Our First Blankets of 2014!

Over the summer my friend Diana called me up asking if we were going to be doing the Blanket Brigade again as the staff at her school, Station Middle School in Barrington, IL, was looking to do a fall service project.  At that point I was fairly certain we were going to do it, but this was the contact I needed to say, "Yup. We're doing this!"  I contacted Lurie Children's Hospital that same afternoon to schedule our drop off date.

A couple of weeks ago Mallory and I were invited to share our story at their staff meeting the same day they were scheduled to make their blankets.  I had no idea what to expect from a room of middle school teachers, but I think Mallory's excitement was a bit infectious!  As the principal asked, "What do you say, Guys?  Should we do this?" a round of applause followed and this incredible bunch got to work.

Within the hour, they completed 25 blankets!  It's amazing what happens when people work together, isn't it?  Needless to say, this event was a fantastic way for Mallory and I to get excited about this years collection.

Diana & her friends were ORGANIZED.  They had two blanket making stations at each table in the school's library each with two pieces of pre-cut fabric and two pairs of Fiskars scissors.

Pretty sure the PE teachers thought it was a competition to finish first. (They did!)  I got a kick out of that!

As they worked, Mallory went around schmoozing the crowd, sharing stories of last year and helping tie knots.

She made quite a few new friends that afternoon.

Tallying the finished blankets and getting high fives!

Many thanks to Diana and the staff at Station Middle School!  We are so happy to have gotten the opportunity to work with you!