Aurora University student-athletes took a break from workouts Tuesday, Feb. 18, to help warm needy kids.
In a 22nd annual Project Linus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., athletes from AU’s 24 intercollegiate teams crafted a record 155 fleece fabric blankets. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee sponsored the effort in Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium at Alumni Hall of Physical Education.
Blankets will be donated to the pediatric unit at Northwestern Medicine Central Dupage Hospital in Winfield.
Morgan Stenson, assistant director of athletics for compliance and business operations and senior woman administrator, coordinated the event.
Joining athletes cutting fabric and tying blankets were athletic training students, athletic department staff, physical education department members and university community members.
Brian Kipley, director of athletic communications, used the gym scoreboard to track blankets completed and keep time for the two-hour project. “This indeed set a new record in the 22nd year of the Project Linus blanket making event for AU,” he said.
Earlier recipients of blankets included Rush-Copley Memorial Hospital’s Cancer Care Center and the hospital’s Waterford Place Cancer Resource Center, both in Aurora.
Project Linus is a Belton, Mo.-based nonprofit that provides security, love, warmth and comfort through blankets. With chapters in all 50 states, the charity collects blankets locally for distribution to children in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies or anywhere that a child might be in need. Since 1995, the nonprofit has distributed 9,356,325 blankets.
—Al Benson