Covering need - Boy's blankets wrap dying patients, babies in love

SHAWNEE, Kan. (CNS) - "Everybody deserves a blanket," insisted Connor McClain, a third-grader at Good Shepherd School in Shawnee.

And he's bound and determined that everyone gets one. A front-page story on Catholic Community Hospice that appeared last fall in The Leaven, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, started it all. "He was just blown away that there were people out there who were dying and didn't have things," said Lisa McClain, a member of Good Shepherd Parish. "And he kept saying, 'At least I could give them a blanket. Everybody deserves a blanket.'" Fifty blankets later, Connor was presented with a medal during National Volunteer Week this April to acknowledge his efforts in supplying Catholic Charities with throws for hospice patients and more than 50 handmade blankets for its mother-baby program. When asked to explain why he feels everyone deserves a blanket, Connor produced his own well-worn green fleece throw covered in soccer balls. "My mom made this for me," he said. "It's nice because it makes me think of my mom and it makes me think of my sport." Connor helped make his blanket, fringing the edges and tying the two sides of fleece together. When he learned about the blanket project for hospice patients, he asked his mom if he could make another blanket for this special cause. "I decided the best thing would be for us to give them a blanket before they died," he explained, "just to show them some other people are caring for them -- that they're not just alone with their family." So with the help of classmates at Good Shepherd School, Connor made three fleece throws sporting bright ponies, race cars and butterflies to donate to hospice. He felt so good about the results that he wanted to do more. In the past, his school held donation drives for Catholic Charities' mother-baby program. Connor wondered if each of the 51 students in his third-grade class might make a baby blanket instead. "I thought giving them something where they could be warm and stuff would be good," Connor told The Leaven. "(The moms) could wrap it around the baby and keep them warm when they were sleeping." Connor pitched the idea to his class, promising fellow students that if they could raise some money, he would purchase and cut the fleece fabric and teach them how to tie the pieces together to make blankets. Third-grade teachers Stacy Best and Ann Smith thought it would be a great Lenten service project. Students responded with enthusiasm and generosity, collecting $141. With his mom's help, Connor determined how much fabric would be needed, and then went from store to store to see what was on sale and who might give him a discount. Once he found the best deal, the fabric selection process began. "He'd pick out each piece of fabric and say, 'That would be good for a little boy; now what would the little boy want on the other side?'" recalled McClain. "We had four carts. It took forever and I was kind of getting to the end of my rope because I also had a kindergartner and a 3-year-old (Connor's brothers)." But some things just can't be rushed, Connor explained. "I just was trying to think of something that little kids would like, not just something that I would like," he added. Connor and his mom spent their spring break cutting the fleece into baby-blanket-size pieces, fringing the edges, matching up fabrics and tying the corners together on each blanket. After the break, Connor took the blankets to school, giving one to each classmate to finish the fringe. Each student also made a baby card to accompany his or her blanket. When the project was completed, Connor delivered the cards and blankets to Betty Marler, director of volunteer services for Catholic Community Health Care, and said of the experience, "I wasn't scared or anything."

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