Council Student Awarded Hershey Heartwarming Grant for Positive Change
Council students are using their skills learned in school to make a positive impact in the world thanks to sophomore Lilly Mendenhall. Lilly, who is an active member of FCCLA and is taking her second year of Mrs. Cook’s Textiles class, has written a Hershey Heartwarming Grant and has received $500 to purchase flannel to make baby blankets for newborns in need.
The grant asked the applicant to identify the impact/change the students want to make and describe the issue or change they are trying to make and identify what they hope to achieve. Lilly’s response was heart warming and true as she says,
“Our Textiles class was made aware of an issue in Ohio. An RN in Ohio posted on social media that their hospital did not have enough baby blankets. They were not able to send babies home with blankets in the winter. This RN was asking for quilt donations so that, when winter hit, their babies would have something to be sent home in. Our class immediately set to work, quilting every quilt top we could find. So far, we have made 20 quilts to send. We found a need and took action to help others. We would like to be able to provide this hospital with more quilts for the babies and mothers in this community. We hope to create quilts that will keep babies warm in the winter, and they will want to keep as they grow up. We also, through this issue, noticed a need in our local pregnancy crisis center, in Ontario, Oregon. We plan to make quilts to send to these people, as well. Our vision for this grant is to keep babies warm.”
Lilly had to have a detailed outline to ensure she would carry her plan and make the impact she desired. She states “We plan to reinvest the money in flannel and batting to continue to keep babies warm in the future. Every year, we plan to make 15 quilts to send. Currently, we have 11 students in our textiles classes who will help to create these quilts. These students have experience, in that they helped us make the original 20 quilts. Our textiles teacher taught us that we should use our skills to create good in the world, and we want to be able to do that. After the quilts are made, we will need to mail or deliver them to the hospitals/pregnancy crisis centers. We plan to continue purchasing materials so that we can continue to spread warmth.”
This is a new tradition that the CHS Textile students are going to make happen because they recognize the struggle that these mothers and babies are going through. Council students want to make a difference by making sure that babies that are born during winter, can go home in cozy flannel quilts to help them settle in, keep warm and feel loved.
