More than 90 Oakland University students attended the Student Program Board’s (SPB) Blanket Making event on Feb. 6 in the Oakland Center (OC) Lake Superior Room from noon to 2 p.m.
This is the first time in recent years that SPB has hosted an event of this type.
SPB Marketing Director Kelly Cassette said the event was hosted as part of OU’s pre-Valentine’s Day festivities.
“Each month, we hold a general member meeting for our students that really want to be a part of SPB, we always host kind of a more lowkey month,” Cassette said. “For February, wanted to do something kind of on the Valentine’s Day themed, but also kind of having it to be doing something for yourself rather than kind of making it a couple thing.
“I know it’s always a volunteer thing, but people love to do it… People can make them for themselves during the cold times of the year, keep something to keep them warm, and just do something nice for themselves this time of year,” she added. “Back at the school after winter break, [students are] always kind of in a slump getting toward midterms. So we just wanted to do something nice for everyone to kind of escape.”
Besides making the blankets for themselves or their companions, unfinished projects that were left behind or donated by the students would be used for the Office of Student Involvement’s OU Day of Kindness, which will be taking place on Feb. 14 in the OC’s Gold Room from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“They do a whole volunteer thing and do little gift packets that they donate, so anything that’s not completed, whether it be a whole blanket kit or someone has to leave beforehand and don’t get to complete the blanket, we’re going to be donating,” Cassette said.
Students picked from a variety of colors and patterns, including cherries, bumblebees and paw prints, the latter of which was the choice of sophomore Mackenzie Harrington.
“I’m actually redecorating my room, so I want to find little things to put in my room and I thought this would be a cute thing to put on my bed,” Harrington said. “I have five dogs, so I wanted something with paw prints, of course.”
Sophomore August Wicker said that they attended because they thought it would be fun to do a craft with other students.
“I think it’s cool to get together and do something like this… just bringing students together through that,” Wicker said.
Other attendees stuck with the Valentine’s Day spirit, like senior Maxim Kemp, who chose the floral-pattern blanket kit to go along with his girlfriend’s interests.
“[I attended this event] mostly because of my girlfriend. I wanted to do something nice and make her something,” Kemp said. “She loves sunflowers and I know that she loves green and the color pink, so I thought that was a perfect decision… I’m hoping that she loves it.”
The 90 blanket-making kits SPB bought ran out very quickly, surpassing Cassette’s expectations.
“This would definitely be an event where if we did it in the future, we would make it a bigger event rather than just a simple general member meeting,” she said. “We thought it’d be a little bit bigger of an event, but obviously, this is very successful and something a lot of people are going to want to do. So this is a note for next year.”
For more information about SPB’s events, visit their Instagram.
