Schools
Community rallies to cover years of successful blanket drive
Effort has raised more than 900 blankets for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Five years ago, Henry Ford II graduate Alex Sorgi had an idea for a service project that honored one of her classmates who had passed away from cancer.
Today, a service drive that donates blankets to a local children’s hospital is still being covered – thanks to an outpouring of community support and a legacy of giving in UCS.
“When I started the blanket drive, I had no idea that it would continue for this long or become so successful,” said Alex Sorgi, a member of the Henry Ford II Class of 2015. “Each year we have reached out to different people and groups to try to grow and the response has been amazing.”
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The drive started as part of a National Honor Society service project in honor of Stefan Oncia, a Henry Ford II student and soccer standout who passed away from cancer in 2014.
After Sorgi graduated, her sister Nikki (Class of 2017), brother Joey (junior) and NHS advisors and students continued what has now become a Bemis Junior High School/Henry Ford II tradition.
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This year, the drive raised more than 300 blankets for the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, making it the largest blanket donation program at the facility.
The blankets, which are made by NHS students, are part of the young patient’s Christmas morning packages and used throughout the year.
“I am so grateful we've been able to continue doing this each year and absolutely could not have continued without the help of Nikki and Joey. Ms, Mac, Ms. Peters and Ms. Fink (NHS advisors Kristen McGunnigle, Maria Peters and Casey Finkbeiner) are incredible,” she said. “They have helped grow this project larger than we could have ever imagined.”
To date, the drive has provided more than 900 blankets to the hospital.
“Our goal for this project is to exceed 1,000 blankets before my brother graduates in 2020 and to have gotten enough exposure and participation that it will continue at Ford and Bemis for a long time,” she said.
Superintendent Dr. Christine Johns
Source: Utica Community Schools
