During this spring semester, members of the Astra Club of Pioneer Valley High School dedicated hours of their lunch periods in the school’s library—not reading, but making blankets for cancer patients.
“The students gave up their lunch to work on these blankets. They would eat really fast so they would have more time to work on the blankets,” said Melinda Aguirre, president of Altrusa of the Central Coast Noon Time Club, who also helped launch the Astra club at Pioneer.
The blankets were a part of a senior project encouraged by a member of the Astra (Ability, Service, Training, Responsibility, and Achievement) club, whose mother is undergoing breast cancer treatment. The student suggested the group choose a project that could somehow benefit cancer patients. According to Melinda Aguirre, a nurse at Mission Hope Cancer Center recommended they make blankets.
About 25 blankets were made with two layers of polar fleece tied with knots at the fringes. Aguirre said the fabric was bought with a special discount from Joanne’s Fabrics, after the manager was made aware of what the fabric would be used for.
“They wanted us to use colors and patters that were cheerful and bright to brighten their day,” Aguirre said. “So we made some quilts that were ’60s themed with peace signs and a space blanket with planets and stars, a tropical one, and another one with rainbows.”
Aguirre went on to excitedly describe more of the designs in detail. Then she began to talk about a blanket with American flags printed on it. She paused for a moment, her energetic tone turning soft.
“There’s a blanket we made with American flags all over it and a nurse told me that this military veteran who has leukemia always chooses it,” she said. “To me, they are just blankets, but for cancer patients, it’s really important. It means more to them than we would think.”
This article appears in Jun 7-14, 2012.
