CHS Students Spread Warmth And 'Love' To Young Cancer Patients

Cranford High School is well known for its charitable efforts and willingness to give back to its community. This tradition continued this year when students participated in “Blankets of Love,” which in previous years has been called “Blankets for Babes.”

Many students joined in Mr. Campbell’s room to cut, tie and pull together fleece blankets for children in the Morristown Memorial Carol Simon Cancer Center. This successful program was largely facilitated by Mrs. Narus and Mr. Campbell, as well as many generous students.

“Blankets of Love” took place throughout the whole half day on November 23, the day before Thanksgiving. Students were previously asked to bring in two yards of fleece fabric, amounting to about $10 each. Some teachers offered extra credit as an added incentive to purchase the fabric, but hopefully the majority did it out of their own kindness. On Wednesday, many students returned with bright colored and patterned fabrics. These fleece fabrics were very child- friendly, with assorted sports logos, Disney princesses, hearts, stars and peace signs.

The students paired two piece of fabric together, placing them one on top of the other, eliminating any air pockets or wrinkles. They then trimmed around the edges with a pair of scissors to make sure the fabrics were relatively even and matched up. Then, the fabrics were ready to be made into one fuzzy blanket.

The initial step in making the blanket is to cut 5 inch by 5 inch squares out of each corner of the blanket. Then, strips were cut along all four sides of the fabric, each strip being about two fingers thick and a little shorter than the 5 inch squares. After all the strips were cut, the corresponding strips from each piece of fabric were tied together in a double knot. Even after all that work, the fabric still did not look like a blanket. It looked more like a round pizza. It gained its blanket shape, more rectangular, after it was stretched and pulled around the perimeter, creating ominous tearing noises.

Seeing so many students come together to make blankets for children in need of some care and love was very heartwarming. There was a sense of unity in the five to seven or so students clustered around each blanket, each taking their own role by cutting or tying strips. Students discovered their sense of humanity that compelled them to buy fabric out of their own pockets and make blankets for children they would never even meet.

If you are an underclassman, you should definitely consider participating in “Blankets for Love” at least once in the future. With your help, Cranford High School will be able to donate close to, or even exceeding 100 blankets to the Morristown Memorial Carol Simon Cancer Center. Each blanket brings joy and comfort to a child who has been deprived of those basic needs because of cancer. They also show how much our school cares about its community and giving back to it.