University Times

Staff Association Council members, left to right, Gwen Watkins, Marissa Arlet, Colleen Abt, Anna Sangl and Theresa Benedek finish fleece blankets to be donated to charities.

The Staff Association Council is spreading warmth by making blankets to be distributed to clients of area social service agencies.

SAC members typically work on the blanket project at home, but it’s not unusual to find SAC members multitasking during meetings by tying knot after knot to form the borders of the fluffy fleeces.

The blanket project sprang from the SAC program and planning committee’s decision in 2006 to undertake an annual community service project. That first year, the committee chose to “adopt” and buy gifts for two families through the Salvation Army.

Last year, the SAC committee met its commitment by raising funds to buy materials and make more than 170 blankets for individuals served by the Lemington Community Services Senior Center.

For many of the elderly clients, this was the only gift they received for the holidays, in addition to being a source of warmth and comfort, said SAC program and planning committee co-chair Anna Sangl, who has headed up the project.

Last summer, a dozen blankets were delivered to The Open Door, a home run by Allegheny General Hospital for men with AIDS.

The committee chose to continue the project in 2008 because the blankets were so well received last year. Part of the blankets’ appeal, Sangl noted, is that they are not only handmade, but each is made with a different combination of fabrics, enabling recipients — who often have little or nothing — to have something unique to call their own.

This year, SAC is making blankets for clients of the YWCA Bridge Housing Program, which provides transitional housing for homeless women and children. SAC’s goal is to make 40 adult and 70 children’s blankets for the agency. As of this week, 52 have been completed. Sangl said the committee hopes to select an additional agency once blankets for the Bridge program are finished.

“Our hope is to continue this project each year and reach out to as many people in need as possible with a gift of warmth made with love,” Sangl said.

The adult fleece blankets require four yards of material; children’s blankets take three yards to complete. To make the blankets, two layers of fleece — one print, one solid — are matched up, then slits are cut all around to make a wide fringe. The fringe is tied in double knots to bring the layers together and allow the contrasting layers to show. Experienced “tie-ers” can complete a blanket in about an hour, Sangl said, noting that in the span of about four hours on a recent evening, she was able to cut the materials for about a half-dozen blankets and completed tying three.

Sangl’s home and office often are filled with bags of fleece and blankets in various stages of completion, but while storage is a small problem, the bigger challenge is raising the funds to make the blankets.

Even when shopping for fabric sales, the blankets cost $14-$20 to make. “When we’re doing 100, that’s $2,000 we have to come up with,” Sangl said.

SAC accepts donations of fleece. Also, to raise money for supplies, the committee has held drawings for blankets or backrest pillows made from Steelers- or Pitt-patterned fleece (one such fundraiser is underway now) and has included the blankets and pillows in gift baskets that were raffled at SAC’s annual Kennywood picnic.

For information on supporting or participating in the blanket project, contact committee chair Marissa Arlet at marissa@pitt.edu or 412/383-2004.

—Kimberly K. Barlow