The OPHS Blanket Drive Warms Hearts
The Varsity Girls Soccer captains dropping off blankets at Oishei Hospital along with their coaches, some OP parents, Faculty at Oishei Hospital, and Mr. Hack, OP Athletic Director.
For the past three years, the girls varsity soccer team at OPHS has held a blanket drive. Led by senior Olivia Kirk, the drive has collected a combined total of nearly 500 blankets for donation to the John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. These blankets were delivered to Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 by organizer Olivia Kirk, Keely Thorpe, State Senator Tim Kennedy, OP parents, the varsity soccer coaches, and some of the Oishei staff.
“These blankets really help to boost morale during the holidays and to put a smile on kids’ faces,” said Kirk when asked about how the project affects the community.
The drive started in the fall of 2020 when Olivia suggested that they make/collect blankets for donation to Oishei Children’s Hospital. In the years before Covid, State Senator Tim Kennedy also held a blanket drive called Warm Up WNY. So with help from someone experienced, Olivia has been able to continue this drive for the past three years.
“Each year, after we collect the blankets, we drop them off at Oishei Children’s Hospital with Senator Tim Kennedy. Senator Kennedy used to have a blanket drive called Warm Up WNY. Unfortunately due to Covid, this program has paused, but we have been able to work with him to donate some blankets each year,” Said Kirk when asked where the blankets are given and who helps with the drive.
“We have continued to do this drive because it helps us bond as a team, and it gives us a way to give back to our community each season. We also were determined to collect more each year,” said Kirk when asked what makes the soccer team continue doing the blanket drive.
With this year being Olivia’s last year of high school, she hopes the underclassmen keep the blanket drive tradition alive. The girls’ soccer team has continued to grow closer with this drive, allowing the girls to feel good about themselves after they accomplish the goal of beating last year’s amount of donations. And of course, the blankets benefit a most deserving group.
Though Olivia’s high school soccer career has come to an end, she and the other senior soccer players not only plan to pass down this new tradition of team bonding to the underclassmen, but they also plan on keeping the smiles on the faces of the children at Oishei Hospital.
