LEAP Students Create, Deliver Memory Blankets
Lee University students recently made “memory blankets” to be delivered to seniors in memory care units of nursing homes as part of a LEAP (Learn Engage Achieve Program) service project.
“The students enjoyed the opportunity to get together for this meaningful project,” said Dr. Angela Waltrip, director of LEAP. “They put a lot of time into this project as they wanted to make blankets in honor of their own grandparents. Some made blankets in memory of a loved one who had passed away. They wanted to wrap the seniors in love.”
The memory blankets, which require no sewing, are small, brightly colored lap blankets with fringes, appliques, buttons, and textures for the memory care patients to see, touch, and fidget with. Earlier this month, students delivered the blankets to Signature HealthCARE of Cleveland and Pruitt Nursing Home in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
“Making these blankets was time consuming, but the joy they will bring to memory care patients is worth every minute,” said Bailey Rath, a junior accounting major.
LEAP students chose and began this project last year with the idea of providing a gift to isolated nursing home patients. Students also wrapped the blankets and included handwritten Christmas cards. The 51 LEAP students, along with LEAP staff members Waltrip, Kathi Douglas, Dr. Jake Fast, and Amber DeLong, made 65 blankets to deliver.
“Doing this project was such a fun experience,” said Justus Dennis, a sophomore music and worship major. “The idea of creating these blankets for people that need comfort and being an indirect provider of that comfort is amazing. This is such a unique way of doing God’s work, and I’m so honored to be a part of such a great project.”
LEAP started in 2015 and currently serves 140 first-generation or underrepresented students each year who meet the eligibility criteria. It is a federally funded TRIO program through the Department of Education. The program provides individual success coaching, peer mentors, direct student aid, financial aid counseling, financial literacy education, cultural and academic enrichment opportunities, and other personalized services according to individual students’ needs.
“I used to make these blankets with my grandma growing up, and I enjoyed working on them with my LEAP peers this year, said Steven Moore, a junior business management major. “I hope they bring a smile to those receiving them.”
For more information about LEAP, visit leeuniversity.edu/leap/.
