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‘Blanket Brigade’ bundles community

Calling for all thimbles, yarn and Berninas – the Blanket Brigade is ready for work.

The first annual Blanket Brigade event, held by AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America on Monday, brought Utah State University students and Cache Valley community members together to provide service for locals in need.

The service project focused on making blankets and quilts for poverty-stricken community members. The event, which started up around 9 a.m., didn’t end until close to 3 p.m.

“The end goal was 200 blankets, but I’ve lost count of how many we actually have finished already,” said Meganleigh Ward, an Americorps VISTA supervisor who helped coordinate the event. “I want to say we’ve already got over 50 finished and those are fleece and quilts.”

Ward is involved with Public School Partnership, which is hosted at Utah State University and sponsored by AmeriCorps VISTA National Service Program. Through the Val R. Christensen Service Center, the two groups were able to organize the event that would help members of the Cache Valley community.

The blankets made at the brigade were donated to the Bear River Association of Governments Heat Program, which has over 2,000 recipients in Cache Valley. Ward said these individuals are unable to afford heating and other essential utilities. The goal of VISTA is to take on 10 percent of the overall population and make blankets for those families.

“I have been measuring fabric by hand all day,” Ward said. “It looked like a fabric factory in our office.”

Ward and her 22 VISTA members have each taken upon themselves through a contract to live at the poverty level for one full year. Ward, who has a psychology degree, has been living this lifestyle for two years now.

“It’s the most freeing thing for me, personally, because I don’t need much to survive, and you let go of that and understand that there are other people, like the people I work with,” Ward said. “All of us are in it for the families. All of us are in it to alleviate these people from poverty and show them that they have support, show them that there are people who do really care.”

For program coordinator Krista Gurko, one of the most rewarding aspects of this event has been seeing the community step in to assist in the work. America First Credit Union donated $1,000 for the event, and other local groups such as 4-H and the Bernina store have made donations as well.

“We are learning about assets in our community and then empowering people to work together and to support each other,” Gurko said.

The event brought together both students and community members, all working together to make blankets for those in need. Among the volunteers was undeclared freshman Makenzie Skewes. For her, this event was a way to volunteer her time while sneaking in some extra credit.

“One of my classes has extra credit in it, but my roommate was like, ‘Hey come help,’ and so I came,” Skewes said.

Zach Green, a junior studying nutrition, went to test his hand at sewing. Green, a member of Alpha Tao Omega, stressed the importance that service work can have on a community.

“It’s always good to do service. I mean, that’s one of the things that we focus on in ATO is just leaving an imprint on the university and the community and just giving back,” Green said. “We’ve received a lot from Logan and Utah State, and it’s always good to give back and make things better.”

For students who are interested in getting more involved with similar service opportunities, Gurko said AmeriCorps has many summer jobs available to students.

“We have summer positions that are open for students, and by getting involved, people learn about those who they might not have otherwise,” Gurko said.

Students can also learn more about AmeriCorps VISTA by visiting its Facebook page, where many of the community’s impact stories are featured.

By getting involved and providing service, Ward said that not only can their organization expand, but the community will have a positive impact and grow closer as a result.

“It’s not the financial gain,” she said. “It’s people with strong hearts wanting to make it stronger.”

— alyssa.hawkins@aggiemail.usu.edu

Twitter: @_alyssahawkins