Children made blankets for other children

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

Children made blankets for other children.
That made a difference – and is expected to keep doing so  in a coronavirus-traumatized society.
It started with eighth-graders considering what to do for their Catholic Schools Week service project at St. Anna Elementary School in Leominster.
“The students came up with this idea on their own.… All through middle school they’ve done card-making” and collecting food, for service projects, said Alissa Campbell, eighth-grade homeroom teacher, who teaches middle school English and history. “They wanted to do something that would impact more children” than previous projects did.
Eighth-grader Ashley Kenney said they brainstormed; “Mrs. Campbell said blankets and then we said tie blankets,” which would be important in the winter. Ashley said the school secretary makes them as gifts for teachers.
The students talked about whether to make blankets for shelters, food pantries, pre-school classrooms or for a fire station (to distribute when there is a fire or accident), Mrs. Campbell said.
But, she said, the eighth-graders wanted to make blankets for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families to give to foster children. One of her student’s parents work for DCF, she said.
Mrs. Campbell said she asked a former student’s mother, Michelle Mainguy, who also works for DCF, about getting blankets to children.
Ms. Mainguy, DCF program manager for the Leominster area, said she eagerly accepted the offer. She said their office serves more children than many area offices and more children have come into the system during the coronavirus, as families face poverty, stress, domestic violence and substance abuse.
Efforts are made to bring children’s own things with them when they enter the system, but sometimes in an emergency that can’t be done, she said. So DCF accepts donations to put in placement bags for the children. The blankets are an especially welcome addition – for more than one reason.
“Those blankets … they’re so soft and fuzzy!” Ms. Mainguy raved. “Blankets and stuffed animals are so comforting to children … when they first come into foster care.… From kids to kids – I just think that’s such a wonderful and touching thing.”
She said it’s important “to teach our children giving … Just a small gesture can go a long way. … These kids need something to hold onto, even if it’s a blanket.”
The blankets will benefit foster children “without a doubt,” she said, adding, “the colors are so vibrant, child friendly.”
Mrs. Campbell said she bought the cloth - four solid colors and six patterns – with approximately $200 her students brought in for the project.
“Even our remote eighth-grader picked up the fabric … at the school,” she said. “Virtually I put him on the iPad. He made his own as we were doing ours,” watching to see how it was done.
The class made one of the 3-foot by 3-foot blankets, to see how to cut fringe into the fabric and tie two pieces together, then each of her 14 students made a blanket of their own, Mrs. Campbell said.
“It took us two and a half class periods,” she said. (A class period is 50 minutes.)
Ashley said it was “super easy,” fun to do with her classmates, and will “make a big impact” on foster children.
“I’m happy I can help somebody,” she said.
“I wanted to help the kids feel welcomed and wanted,” said Patrick Cochran, another of the eighth-graders. He said his half-siblings had gone to DCF, though he himself didn’t.
 “It’s not a fun thing,” he said. “I knew what it was like,” in a way classmates might not. “We go to a private school,” he added. “We don’t have to face that type of trauma.… We’re all fortunate … including myself.”
Mrs. Campbell said she overheard her students saying things such as, “This is one thing they’ll get to take with them,” and “It doesn’t have to be perfect; it’s something they can love,” (even though they were trying hard to do a good job).
“It was a sentiment of – they were doing it for somebody else,” she said. “I think it allowed them to look past their immediate environment and realize they could have a larger impact on the world around them.… It was a service project they were really invested in.… I think it was because it was something tangible they made with their own hands.”  She said she thought the fact that the blankets are for children also played a role.
Eighth-grader Annie Charette said she really enjoyed the project because the blankets were for people in need. She said she’d be happy to help anyone, but “I think it was especially special” that the blankets were for children around her age or younger.
She said she chose the kitty unicorn and rainbow pattern because she thought it was “really cute.” And she thinks a little girl will like it.
“I realized I’m a lot more fortunate than other children, and it felt good to help them out,” she said.
Mrs. Campbell said St. Anna’s other middle schoolers asked if they can make blankets sometime, and she’d like to do the project again, extending it to grades six and seven.
“I’m hoping that we can start a relationship (with DCF) and continue to add these blankets to their bags,” she said.
“I would love to continue this,” Ms. Mainguy said. “We have children going into placement all the time.”
St. Anna’s blankets will soon be sent out. Then DCF will need more.

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