As winds blow briskly and the fall succumbs to the winter, not all in the Central Valley have the luxury of comfort and warmth. Fresno Christian Home Economics class joins the season of giving, making tie blankets to donate to women and children charities. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the blanket-making lesson.
The tradition of giving started with Marylou Savage, a Fresno Christian parent who introduced “tie days” for charities to the classroom Christmas party of her son Josh’s fourth grade class. Savage saw an opportunity to involve Fresno Christian students and showed the elementary building the art of blanket tying. The next year, they began to include grades 3 through 6. Over time, the idea expanded, and Savage partnered with Home Ec advisor Kimberly Bell, moving the ministry to high school students. The two went on to teach hundreds of students who went through the class to create the blankets, praying over them as a class before sending them off.
“All the blankets are prayed over before they are delivered,” Savage said. “We will be donating to the Family Healing Center and Rescue The Children. This is a rich opportunity to share God’s blessings and love and caring with others less fortunate.”
With the recent retirement of Bell, Kristy Higton, new Home Economic advisor, carries out the tie blanket tradition alongside Savage.
“My favorite part of the tie blankets is praying over the blankets,” Higton said. “We gather up in a circle as a class around the blankets, and anyone who wants to pray is able to chime in. We pray that they will go to the right person and that the blanket will show them the love that Christ has for them!”
Caleb Iest, ’25, also shares a similar favorite part of the blanket-making experience.
“We were able to pray over the blankets and send them out,” Iest said. “I thought that was a really special moment because it proved that we could really bless someone through the blankets we made.”
Participating students are given the opportunity to think outside of themselves and bless the community in its biggest season of need. The tradition continues on to encourage students to get involved in their community and spread God’s love by serving others.
To read more from The Feather visit Home economics bake annual cinnamon rolls or Christmas Tree Lane and Candy Cane Lane prepare for lively holiday season.
