St. Charles Teacher Challenges Students with 'Wrapped in Love' Project for Cancer Patients

A St. Charles middle school teacher and her students who made dozens of fleece blankets for those battling cancer still have more work ahead of them.

Deanna Tennant, a family consumer science teacher at Haines Middle School started the “Wrapped in Love." The effort was in memory of William C. Meyer, a Sycamore man and long-time family friend of Tennant's who died in April of lung cancer.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy patients at The Cancer Center at Kishwakuee Community Hospital in DeKalb are benefiting from the gift.

Eighty blankets were delivered to the cancer center on Valentine’s Day by Meyer’s wife, Anne, his son, Bill, along with Tennant. She had originally tasked her student with making 100 blankets total.

“We are little shy of the 100 blankets, but will continue the project throughout the year to reach 100,” Tennant said in a news release about the project.

Known as “Wrapped in Love,” students sought donations and circulated information about their efforts. Other students, faculty sports teams and even friends from Virginia and Texas soon joined in.

The blankets help cancer patients often get cold during treatment. They are made with two layers of fleece—donated materials—and bright, cheerful colors.

Tennant hopes that more people become aware of the project and join in.