By Kristin Canning

Wartburg students made 100 fleece-tie blankets for kids at Bremwood Lutheran Children’s Home on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“Blankets of Love” was just one of many service projects on and off the Wartburg campus Monday. Students participated as part of organizations, athletic teams and individually to make the traditional day off a “day on” for service.

All told, 480 students, faculty and staff participated in the service projects.

Blankets of Love was created two years ago by Kelsey Nulph, a junior from Batavia, Ill. Now leaders of Wartburg Embracing Bremwood have taken over the annual service project.

Two full shifts of Wartburg students cut and tied the blankets in the Chapel Commons basement of the Wartburg Chapel. Adding blankets made by students at St. Paul’s Lutheran School, 110 blankets will be delivered to Bremwood on Feb. 13.

Blankets of Love leader Katie Brown, a sophomore from Van Meter, volunteers at Bremwood.

“I’ve seen first-hand how much the girls there struggle for attention and comfort. Sitting here making these blankets hopefully means I’m giving them some sort of hope and comfort in their situation,” Brown said.

Before the blankets are completely tied, blanket makers sign a small foam heart and place it between the two pieces of fleece. The group prays over each blanket once it’s finished, blessing the blanket and the child who receives it.

Rachael Cheeseman, a sophomore from Reinbeck, said her group prayed that each child would be “wrapped in God’s love.

“I like knowing how much the kids will love these blankets because they really look up to Wartburg students,” Cheeseman said.

Students also make a card and attach it to each blanket. The groups write special messages to the children who will receive their blankets.

Courtney Harksen, a junior from Camanche, said the MLK Day service projects are a good way for students to give back to their community.

“Blankets of Love gives Wartburg students a chance to give the kids at Bremwood the opportunity to have something to call their own and give them comfort when they need it,” Harksen said.

Brown said some of the kids at Bremwood take their blankets apart just to look at the little heart inside. So her group wrote messages on their hearts about how special each child is.

“A blanket doesn’t seem like a lot, but I think it will mean a lot to them,” she said.