2020 has been a very busy year for MK Blanket Wraps! Let us catch you up on everything we have done this year and what is coming up!
As of January 1 we have handed out 924 blanket wraps since we started back in 2016. We had the pleasure of handing out blanket wraps to the guests at ChristNet, Ark Association, South Oakland Shelter and Lighthouse and the Matchan Nutrition Center in Pontiac in 2020. We have not hit our 2020 goal yet of 1000 blanket wraps. We continue to sew in our basement and hope we will be able to hand out soon. The weather is still cold so people still need blanket wraps!
A little fun fact…Since every blanket wrap is 2 yards of fleece (not including pockets), if you laid out all our blanket wraps in a row, we have sew enough blanket wraps to cover OVER 1 mile! (there are 1760 yards in one mile). That is A LOT OF FLEECE! 🙂
On January 20, 2020 (and Mackenzie’s birthday) we co-sponsored, with Royal Oak Middle School Student Council, our 2nd Annual MLK Jr. Day of Service. Held this year at Berkley High School, the ROMS Students donated money to buy enough fleece to sew 111 PAIRS of mittens for the homeless! Over the course of 3 hours, the students worked at one of the 3 stations to complete the project. The first station was cutting out the mittens, the second was sewing the mittens and the last station was tying the pairs together and painting a small heart on a mitten. We had close to 40 students working very hard on this project. The mittens were donated to a local homeless shelter by the ROMS Student Council.
In February, we were proud to be the community partner for Stagecrafters’ Youth Production of Haphazardly Ever After. This was an ALL YOUTH CAST AND CREW so we loved that they selected a youth organization, like us, to support. So cool! Kate and I were at every performance and had the opportunity to meet so many nice people. Through the generosity of the cast and audience, we sold almost 50 blanket wraps. For every ONE Blanket Wraps sold, we are able to make 2-3 more. A HUGE thank you to Stagecrafters for allowing us to be your partner!
We love the video Stagecrafters produced for us:
One of the people we had the pleasure meeting at Stagecrafters was a member of the Woodward 100 Club. This club is a group of business-minded people that want to help local non-profits and organizations that give back to the community. After learning about MK Blanket Wraps at their meeting, each member donated to MK Blanket Wraps. With money from Stagecrafters and the Woodward 100 Club, we have some big plans this summer…STAY TUNED!
We had a busy April ahead of us but we aren’t sure what will happen, so we will tell you about the events and hopefully next year we will be able to do them!
1) Michigan State University Global Day of Service: April 18, 2020
That’s right! MK Blanket Wraps was going to lead a group MSU students and alumni on the Global Day of Service (it was canceled)! We were asking for 20 volunteers to bring sewing machines (or use one of ours) and come help us sew blanket wraps. The event was going to be held at the Management Education Center – Broad College of Business in Troy. Here is the full write up on our event:
“Mackenzie and Kate (aged 17 and 15) started MK Blanket Wraps as a way to keep the homeless warm on the streets of Detroit. They sketched out their own designs and began to sew the wraps and deliver them directly to shelters and people on the street. Since 2016, these young ladies have created and gifted 924 blankets as a way to spread their love and warmth. They invite and encourage you to come and help too!
Because dad is an MSU grad, they grew up in a Sparty family and continue to cheer us on during football and basketball games. They are super excited and thankful to participate in this year’s MSU Global Day of Service!
The Eli Broad Management Education Center in Troy have opened a space for Kate and Mackenzie to bring their sewing machines, designs and materials in order to sew Blanket Wraps during our Global Day of Service. You are welcome to bring your own machine if that suits you better. The designs are simple and easy to sew but because time is limited, they invite experienced seamstresses to come join the cause.”
2) 2020 GirlPreneur Expo: April 25, 2020
This event is still on *hopefully* and we are excited to be returning for our 3rd year! Held at the Boys and Girls Clubs on Tireman Street in Detroit, it is an afternoon of seeing the creativity and business spirit of young women under 18. Vendors are invited to set up a table to sell things they have created AND/OR spread the word about something they are passionate about. Lots of live entertainment and so much to see…it is a very FUN day! This year instead of having a vendor table, we will be teaching 2 sewing classes throughout the afternoon. Students will learn how to use a sewing machine and complete 2 PROJECTS…one for themselves and one to donate to a non profit. Fingers crossed it isn’t canceled!
And now, we are at a stand still. School is now at home via computer and no sports but we are using this time wisely! We are still sewing blanket wraps to build up our inventory AND we are working on new project ideas and plans for our summer classes and projects. Once life is back to normal, we plan on being VERY BUSY!
AND IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DONATION TO MK BLANKET WRAPS…we are VERY appreciative of all donations we receive, however during this time, there are other organizations that need help more than we do.
These are organizations that feed people and provide shelter for the homeless. PLEASE consider donating to one of these organization in our name, MK Blanket Wraps. We hand out blanket wraps to these organizations and they do great work (they are still open)!
ChristNet
Ark Association
Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries
Matchan Nutrition Center
South Oakland Shelter and Lighthouse
Please follow us on social media (Facebook and Instagram) to see and read about what we are doing!
Thank you for reading. Please stay safe and PLEASE HELP OTHERS!
Mackenzie and Kate
