I have always considered myself to be someone who lives their life in the clouds, constantly dreaming about what could be and how we get there.

As much as I will always advocate for living life through the lens of naive positivity, I also acknowledge that right now is a time to live practically while still envisioning a better tomorrow.

Regretfully, but responsibly, we are postponing Make a Blanket Day: Walled Lake/Novi.

We are working with Suburban Collection, the Novi Chamber of Commerce, the school districts, and our amazing sponsors to determine the best date to reschedule, and we will communicate that date as soon as we know it.

This event already had over 600+ attendees registered, with many more expected in walk-in attendance on the event date. It will still be an EPIC success to provide comfort to kids in the hospital. Once everything settles, we hope it will also be a massive statement for our community to come back together and unite in purpose.

With so much being cancelled and postponed, delayed and deferred, it is also important to recognize the things we must not let slide away.

We cannot cancel comfort.

We must not postpone positivity.

We will not reschedule hope.

We are continuing operations at FTY, of course taking the expected extra precautions with hand-washing, deep-cleaning, remote working when able, and no face-to-face interaction with hospitals. We are also beginning conversations with companies like Maytag and UniMac to procure an industrial, hospital-grade washing machine to assist the hospitals with this important step of sanitation.

Research studies and articles from The Mayo Clinic, Science Direct, The National Institute of Health, and The Center for Disease Control all support conclusions that a virus can survive on fabric for only several hours. Our blankets all go through a 60-90 day quality control process with various stages of sanitation, air-sealing, etc.

Human to human transmission is our biggest enemy, which means we can still provide comfort to kids that need it. We will remain open as we continue our mission to comfort kids, and if you are finding yourself at home and looking for purpose, please consider ordering blanket kits that can be shipped right to your home and making blankets for kids isolated in the hospital.

Kits can be ordered from our website and shipped to you shortly after ordering. Visit http://fleeceandthankyou.org/product/blanket-kit/ to learn more.

We will not reschedule hope, and neither should you.

With positivity and gratitude,

Nicholas Kristock

P.S. Here is a great podcast about resilience during a scary time of this global pandemic. Check out Harvard Health Publishing Podcast Episode: Stress and Anxiety in the time of COVID-19