Kindness begets kindness. Those who receive service or kindness in any form are more likely to spread it further and show kindness or service to others. And this high school student applying for our 2023 scholarship is the perfect example of spreading love and service throughout her community after being on the receiving end earlier in her life. She writes,
“In November 2021 I was diagnosed with Epilepsy. During my hospital stay, I received a blanket. At that point, I had been in the hospital for several days. Receiving the blanket really made a positive impact on me and cheered me up. Since then, my goal has been to create a project of my own to give other hospital patients blankets. After starting my project, it began growing rapidly. This project has really brought my community together as many people have donated materials such as fabric to my project. I have been able to give blankets to several community members who are suffering from cancer, including my mother who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer in September. In addition, I have approximately thirty-five more blankets that I will soon be donating to Nationwide Children’s Hospital.”
“Through The Little Ray of Sunshine project my goal has been to bring joy and comfort to people fighting various severe medical conditions. My long-term goal is to start this project up again in January and gather materials to continue making blankets for those in need.”
“Through The Little Ray of Sunshine project, I have gathered many different resources. I have devoted many hours to hand-making these blankets. They can take anywhere from two to three hours to make a blanket depending on its size. In addition to this, I have spent a lot of time uploading pictures to my Facebook website, “The Little Ray of Sunshine project” that I have created for this project in order to keep the community involved. Through the Facebook site, I have dedicated a lot of additional time to responding to texts and emails regarding questions about the project. Other time-consuming aspects of this project include picking up donations from people and teaching other community members how to tie blankets themselves. It has been a fun and rewarding experience to get involved with my community and get to know people while helping others.”
“My project has been up and running since January of 2022. My first steps in the project were to create a Facebook site informing my community about my goals. My initial post welcomed the community members, told them about my story in the hospital, and talked about the various supplies I may need to succeed. Everyone was very supportive of my project and began donating supplies such as fabric. Each time I complete a blanket I upload a photo of it on my page to show my community. Additionally, I give shoutouts to those who donate to the project. I hand-make tie blankets weekly to keep up with my page and get them ready to take to Nationwide Children’s Hospital.”
Photo by Kristin Vogt
