Aurora University students craft handmade blankets for kids

Aurora University students and employees came together Thursday for the 11th year of a project meant to provide warmth, security and comfort — by way of blankets — to children in hospitals and homeless shelters.

During the annual Blanket Lunch Hour, volunteer “blanketeers” cut and tied fleece pieces into 54-inch square blankets to be donated to the Carol Stream Chapter of Project Linus, a Bloomington-based nonprofit.

Project Linus gives handmade blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or enduring other difficult situations.

At the event sponsored by the university’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Student Athletic Training Organization, volunteers turned out blankets decorated with baseballs, hearts, volleyballs and leopard-skin prints.

“It’s really great for the students to see a charity project that extends for a period of time,” said Nicki Pieart, an adviser with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. “It gets the organization and the students excited.”

Ÿ Daily Herald photographer Bev Horne contributed to this report.