Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), the international honor society in education at University of Portland annually organizes a service project that aims to give back to the community. This year, KDP is hosting a blanket drive to raise money to make brand new fleece blankets for infants in a local hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
KDP partnered with UP Student Nursing Association, the School of Education and Concordia University’s chapter of KDP to host a blanket-making night with newly-purchased fleece on Monday, Nov. 27.
Head organizer for the project Katie Adams, KDP vice president, was not expecting the 20-student turnout Monday night and had to run around searching for more pairs of scissors.
"We were pleasantly surprised with the turnout,” Adams said. “It was really exciting to see the School of Education and the School of Nursing come together to support this great cause."
The idea for the blanket drive emerged last year when KDP advisor Hillary Merk gave birth early, and her newborn baby needed to stay in the NICU for a few months. And since a member of their community was going through tough times, members of KDP were inspired to give back.
“In the past 10 years I’ve been here, KDP usually does services like donating school supplies, but the blanket drive is unique especially because it is run by the students,” Merk said. “(The students) work really hard and it feels great knowing it’s for the good of someone else.”
Members of the honor society reached out to local hospitals and asked their NICUs what they could do to help. The NICUs needed brand-new blankets to keep infants and their families warm during the winter season.
And because babies have weaker immune systems, hospitals tend to be strict with donations, which is why KDP is asking for monetary donations to buy brand-new fabrics and inviting students to help the organizers make the blankets.
“My goal is to continue to build the foundation of this service project that we just started last year,” KDP President Brittani Klindworth said. “Not only is it easy to execute, but it’s also a good way to get people involved with the community from the comforts of our campus.”
Klindworth, a senior education major and former head organizer for the project, said that members hope to continue the work they did last year. She said they will use the leftover money to buy Christmas presents for kids.
Last year, they ended up donating approximately 40 new blankets to Kaiser Permanente’s NICU in Clackamas, Ore. This year, they aim to make more blankets and donate them to other kids as well.
Adams and Klindworth also had the opportunity to travel to Pittsburgh, Penn. last year to present their community service project. KDP brought home the Achieving Chapter Excellence Award.
“Our goal is to reach the greater Portland community,” Adams said. “That’s kind of where I got the idea to partner with different school and organizations like UPSNA and Concordia University to reach out to different hospitals.”
The last blanket-making night will be on Sunday, Dec. 3 in Franz Hall 217 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. KDP is also accepting monetary donations until Thursday, Nov. 30. For more information, contact Katie Adams at adamsk19@up.edu.
