Charles Weinstein, founder of Trans American Spinning Mills in New Bedford, one of the makers of CWS blankets since 1970, demonstrates a fabric testing machine at his factory.

A large series of machines first feed in and rip apart the wool, then pull, poke, and brush it over rollers and under presses, ultimately producing five or six feet of the material a minute, for 700 blankets in 7 hours.

Charlie Weinstein stands next to blanket rolls after they come off the machines.

The blankets are then cut to 62” x 80”.

Then the blankets are edged individually on a sewing machine.

The logos are applied by heat transfer.

Blankets are then baled in a machine that compresses them. An average bale contain 25 blankets each.

Did you ever wonder about the history of the Church World Service woolen blankets?

Recently, Carol Bell and Amy Porter of the CWS Northern New England Regional office went to investigate that very question at Trans American Spinning Mills in New Bedford, Massachusetts, one of the makers of Church World Service’s blankets since 1970 and currently the producer of the CWS Tools & Blankets banner awards.

New Bedford and Fall River have a long tradition in the textile business, at one time home to 12,000 people in the industry. Now, only 400 to 500 remain.

One of them is Charles Weinstein, founder of Trans American Spinning Mills.

Charlie gave us a tour of his factory, which he told us was a former cotton mill built in 1904 “out of North Carolina pine.” He showed us from start to finish how the familiar gray blankets are made. The blankets are 70% recycled wool (“My wool hasn’t seen a sheep for years,” Charlie told us) and 30% synthetic, over a 100% polypropylene core using no glue and no chemicals. Although non-woven, they are also fairly washable, he said.

A large series of machines first feed in and rip apart the wool, then pull, poke, and brush it over rollers and under presses, ultimately producing five or six feet of the material a minute, for 700 blankets in 7 hours.

Nothing is wasted, and all of the byproducts are recycled back into new blankets, including the trim.

CWS logos are applied by heat transfer, which takes 7 seconds, allowing them to imprint a couple of thousand blankets a day, Charlie told us.

The same blankets CWS uses for disaster response are also sold to Army-Navy stores and prisons.

Over the years, Charlie was responsible for developing many lasting innovations in the manufacturing process, including being the first to utilize nylon tow from World War II glider towing line and recycling the material for the manufacture of yarn for sweaters.

Continuing in this spirit, in 1981, he and his son, Reuben launched American Engineering Fabrics (AEF), dedicated to the manufacturing of polyester and polypropylene geotextiles for the construction industry.

In the third generation, Reuben Weinstein, implemented this same innovative thinking with BOOM® Environmental Products. When the Exxon Valdez hit the rocks, it instantly sparked the emergence of the absorbents industry. Reuben was ready to meet the challenge by quickly turning the family's textile company in a new direction to create award-winning absorbents and spill kits, among other products. While social responsibility is an ideal to most companies, at BOOM Environmental Products, it is considered part of a long-standing family tradition to develop a business that creates valuable products with recycled material.

In addition to making disaster response blankets, Charlie also makes the backing for the CWS Banner Awards that we give out every year. He was happy to see the finished product, which now hangs on the wall of his office.

Trans American Mills also sells blankets in quantity to churches at a low cost. You may read more about their business at
transamericanspinning.com and boomenviro.com.

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TOOLS & BLANKET PROGRAM

	Church	Total	Per Capita
1.	MacKenzie Memorial Methodist Church * West Berlin, VT	$  400	$44.45
2.	Edwards Church, UCC * Framingham, MA	$2,140	$32.93
3.	Federated Church of Leicester * Leicester, MA	$1,005	$28.72
4.	First Congregational Church of Buxton * Bar Mills, ME	$1,130	$24.05
5.	Waterbury Center Community Church * Waterbury Center, VT	$   670	$20.31
6.	Wells River Congregational Church * Women’s Fellowship Wells River, VT	$   705	$17.63
7.	First Congregational Church, UCC * Ellsworth, ME	$   919	$   8.00
8.	Congregational Church of East Sumner * Sumner, ME	$   192	$   7.68
9.	Wesley United Methodist Church Medford, MA	$   470	$   7.23
10.	First Congregational Church Manchester, NH	$1,875	$   5.69

* Among the Top Ten Churches in 2005

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Anytime of the year, any place, any reason a "tool" is needed, our Tools & Blankets Program is there...covering the world with love! We have new materials and new ideas for your congregation!

Your monetary gifts to the Tools & Blankets Program of CWS make a world of difference...

When our global family is in distress, you open your hearts with a "tool" to help. When a disaster strikes, these "tools" are a life-saving, helping hand. When people are looking to better their lives, CWS is there to help in partnership, providing the necessary "tools" to make a world of difference in their lives and the future of their children.

Please feel free to order materials for Mother's Day, Father's Day, any day your congregation would like to have a Tools & Blankets Program Sunday!

Or phone in your order by calling toll-free: 1-888-297-2767 or locally at 583-8355

Ask for the Turning the Tide video!

Purchase a sample blanket or fishing net! (Please note: we no longer provide ‘loaner' blankets and fishing nets.)

Check out our Holiday gifts and cards!

Enroll in the new Tools & Blankets Banner Program!

For further information and stories about how Tools & Blankets are helping our neighbors in need, visit the CWS Tools & Blankets website.

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The Northern New England Regional Office is pleased to continue to offer its Banner Award Program. This program has been enthusiastically received by congregations throughout our four-state region. Each year, since 1993, ten (10) congregations have received banners acknowledging their outstanding contributions.

This year we are happy to announce that the Banner Award will be based on total funds given annually to the Church World Service combined Tools & Blankets Program, in relation to the congregation's membership and the average number of people attending worship. This criteria gives smaller congregations the same opportunity to win as larger ones.

Once again, the ten congregations having the highest per capita giving to the CWS Tools & Blankets Program during the year will receive a Tools & Blankets Banner for permanent display. In addition, these ten "Banner" congregations will be acknowledged on our regional website..

IMPORTANT: To be considered for this award, you must ENROLL on or before 1/15/2007.

To enroll in this exciting program, simply print, fill out, and return this registration form.

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I want to alert you to an exciting opportunity to benefit Tools & Blankets when you shop for hardware and household items from Aubuchon Hardware.

Aubuchon Hardware is a family-owned, Massachusetts-based hardware company. Currently, they have 144 stores throughout New England and New York. (The family came to the United States as immigrants in the early 1900's).

They feature Tools & Blankets on their website with a link to our Tools & Blankets page from their home page. The hyperlink text says "Provide tools to people in need" and is located at the bottom of their home page.

They have agreed to give 10% of all purchases from their website when the "Tools & Blankets" promotion code is entered. You can help support the CWS Program by going to their website at aubuchon.com. Select the products you wish to purchase. Each time you find an item, click on "buy" to place the product in your shopping cart.

VERY IMPORTANT: You must enter the correct Promotion Code in the Promotion Code box in order to register your Tools & Blankets donation. If you do not enter the code, your donation will not be made.

The Promotion Code Box is located at the bottom of the "View Shopping Cart" page. The correct promotion code: Tools & Blankets (it is not case sensitive.)

You can call Aubuchon Hardware at 800 282-4393, ext. 2000, with any questions and/or to place your order over the phone. The donation is 10% of your subtotal excluding all shipping, handling, and tax charges. This offer only applies to orders placed through www.aubuchon.com or by calling the 800 number. The Aubuchon retail locations are not involved with this offer.

Please spread the world about this wonderful opportunity to help the CWS Tools & Blankets Program!

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• Visit the CWS Tools & Blankets Resources page for graphics, skits and other materials to liven up your Tools & Blankets event.

• Order materials online or phone our national service center, 1-800-297-1516

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