Oak Forest HS Students Make Blankets to Donate

Oak Forest High School Seniors Michael Stogsdill and Joe Kush work hard on their DECA service project, which is making comfort blankets for children who are hospitalized. The two DECA students were part of a larger group of OFHS students--some DECA, some sophomore softball students, and some BRIDGES students-- that donated their time to making these comfort blankets, all to help sick children get over their nervousness about being in the hospital. They are continuing the tradition carried on by an OFHS alumni family. OFHS Guidance Counselor Paige Stryczek said, “Six years ago, my daughter was hospitalized with an intestinal issue and she got a blanket. I mentioned this to my cousin, Allison (Foss) Kutchinski (℅ 1998) that we should do this in honor of her son Ryan, and it has snowballed from there.” Sadly, Kutchinski had lost her son Ryan six months prior when he passed away at age 2 after a brief illness. Kutchinski took Stryczek up on her suggestion and made comfort blankets in honor of her son Ryan, making sure all blankets had labels sewn into them with his name. She takes the blankets that she, her family, and other groups like the OFHS student groups that donate their time making the blankets, to Children’s Hope Hospital in Oak Lawn, who takes them and gives them to sick children to comfort them while they are in the hospital. “So many students from OFHS have helped out with making them,” Stryczek said. Kutchinski collects donations of blanket fleece and then gathers her family together and they make as many blankets as they can that day. They recently had a blanket making day and made 120 blanket, which is the most the family has ever made to donate, according to Stryczek. If you would like to donate material to this worthy cause, you can contact Paige Stryczek at pstryczek@bhsd228.com.