Belonging Week is an annual celebration at BYU. Throughout the week, students and staff participate in events to foster a Christlike community at the school.
Every year the office of belonging chooses an act of service to be part of Belonging Week. They coordinate with y-serve to find opportunities, and this year they landed on tie blankets.
Madison Morton Kelley, a manager for the Office of Belonging, organized the event.
“As we were talking about options for the service project this year, we really kind of landed on this idea that service is most profound and helpful when we’re really seeing the people that we’re serving as children of god,” Morton Kelley said.
Morton Kelley believes that service is tied directly to the principles of peacemaking. She says that seeing the people we’re serving through that lens changes the way we act.
“We often have this misconception that belonging is something that exists outside of us or happens to us…and I’ve learned more and more that as we follow our savior’s example and try to make sure that other people belong, we will feel a larger sense of belonging,” Morton Kelley said.
The tables filled up quickly with hundreds of students eager to serve.
Hailey Ehman and Emily Lewis had only positive things to say about the event.
“I heard about this from my UNIV class, and I was so on board because I love service,” Ehman said.
“It’s fun getting to know people, meeting people, and the food is always a great perk,” Lewis said.
You can always count on college students to show up for free food. Waffle love provided free waffles to students after they helped complete a blanket.
So, where will the blankets go next?
Lifting hands international is a charity based out of American Fork. They’ll take the blankets and distribute them to refugee children around the world.
Micah Hatch and Nathan Thompson were also participants in the event.
“It was really fun, and I really enjoyed doing it, and it’s good to know it’s going to a good cause,” Micah Hatch said.
The blankets made here will soon make their way to Burundi, Bangladesh, and Ukraine.