On March 27th 2021, the brothers of SigEp MI Theta had the opportunity to volunteer at Fleece and Thank You’s warehouse. Brothers cut over 150 blankets for blanket kits and helped build a new storage shelf. A few brothers who volunteered reflected on their experience. Below are their takeaways:

“We visited Fleece and Thank You in Farmington Hills. Upon arrive we were instructed on what was to be done and how to preform our tasks safely. I was in the group that was tasked with the blanket cutting. We were told how to cut the material, lay it out and simple problem solving we may have to deal with. Additionally, my group stocked all of the color and pattern shelves and cleared up 6 pallets of fleece in the warehouse. I worked with Hunter, Josh, Mo, Blane, Kristin, Jerich, Nathan, and John. Having this many brothers on the cutting and stocking made things run very smoothly in our corner and we were very productive with cutting over 140 blanket kits for them while stocking the shelves. This did not seem like a lot to us when Nick told us we were done after 2 hours’ worth of work and told us how far we had gotten. This really hit home with me when he told us how many his team can get done in that amount of time being about 8.

I really enjoy helping out Fleece and Thank You because of what their organization does and their attention to detail for each blanket and child that will get these blankets. Making sure the blankets have met quality control. There are no stains on the blankets, tied correctly, and washed to remove all germs and ensure when they reach their customer they are perfect and clean for these hospitalized children. This really hits home with me from seeing all of the children when my sister was in the hospital growing up and all of the teens that come to camp with me.

I would really like to see if I could set something up with Fleece and Thank You, SigEp and Camp-Mak-a-Dream or Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation to try to get some blankets from our chapter to some children and teens that have been affected in the same way that my sister has been and are not only in the hospital right now but are also struggling with online classes so they really never get to see their friends due to the pandemic.”

-Robert McQueen

“Working the morning at fleece and thank you was an amazing opportunity to provide an organization with some extra help for the day. They have an amazing mission to help provide kids in need with blankets to brighten their day. I highly recommend checking them out and if you get the chance to meet the team, you won’t be disappointed! Fleece and thank you is an incredible organization and I can’t wait to help out more in the future!”

-Hunter Drake

“My biggest takeaway from Fleece and Thank You is how much a group can affect change in such a little time. With all the brothers that came out we were to do about 5 times the average amount in a 2 hour period. We did all that in only 2 hours. Imagine the amount of change if everyone just took 2 hours to volunteer.”

-Jerich Lopez

“I had the opportunity to volunteer at Fleece and Thank You’s facilities. I’ve helped make fleece blankets for them in the past but never felt like I was contributing enough to the cause I cared about because I am not good at making fleece blankets. At their facilities, I helped cut fabric and prepare it for blanket kits. I believed I contributed a lot more at their facilities because the work I was doing there suited my strengths more than making blankets. This experience helped me realize that even if I think I am not useful enough to support a cause, I can always find a role to make a positive contribution.”

-John Bowling