Two of Lausanne's rising seniors, Maggie Spence ’19 and Naiya Nolan Dillard ‘19, completed a tremendous act of kindness for cancer patients in the Memphis area by donating 25 fleece blankets to West Cancer Clinic-Midtown.
Maggie and Naiya spent a semester researching the average number of incoming chemotherapy patients treated by the cancer clinic. The pair raised $1,200 to purchase 100 yards of fabric to create enough blankets to accommodate every patient.
Their efforts were part of the CAS project all Lausanne juniors are required to complete that focuses on creativity, activity or service. The girls chose to do a service project and made blankets for the patients because of Maggie’s mom recent experience with cancer.
“My mom recently fought an epic battle against breast cancer,” said Maggie. “During my freshman and sophomore years, I watched her go off to bi-weekly chemotherapy treatments, each time carrying a fleece blanket. It wasn’t until I went with her to one of her treatments that I realized just how important the blanket was. The treatment room is cold and the infusion sessions are very long. The blanket both warmed her and brought a small measure of comfort to my mom. I wanted to bring that same comfort to other people going through treatment.”
The students organized volunteers to help them assemble 25 no-sew blankets. Working in teams of two, each blanket took two hours to construct. The project took two months to complete.
“Mrs. Spence was an inspiration to me,” said Naiya. “Even though she was sick, she rarely let it show. Still, I knew what an impact her illness had on Maggie. So when Maggie said she was going to help cancer patients, I immediately jumped on board. This blanket project is our way of showing adult cancer patients that we care about what they are having to go through.”
Action News 5, News Channel 3, Channel 13 News and The Commercial Appeal did feature stories on Maggie and Naiya about the hard work they put into their CAS project. Click the links to read their coverage.