Scouts donate blankets to hospital
Knot-tying skills put to use to keep newborns warm
Daniela Vazquez
Staff writer
1-12-2017
MT. PLEASANT—A handful of young Scouts donated their time to bring a little warmth and comfort to infants who recently left the warmth and comfort of their mothers’ wombs.
Eight eleven-year-old boy scouts of Troop 502 visited Sanpete Valley Hospital (SVH) on Wednesday, Jan. 4 to deliver five fleece quilts they had made over the Christmas holiday to give to infants in the nursery.
But when they arrived to deliver the gifts, Scout Leader Shirlene Rasmussen said there were no babies to be seen.
Rasmussen said several of the boys had asked, “Where are all of the babies?”
SVH Nursery Supervisor Elaine McCormick explained to the boys that the new arrivals spend most of their time in the hospital rooms with their mothers.
Terry Madsen, another scout leader in attendance, said because the boys were deprived of seeing the new babies, they asked McCormick if they could see any other branches of the hospital.
McCormick led the boys on a hospital tour, and Madsen said they were mostly excited to see the surgical unit.
“The boys were ecstatic, but remained polite and interested,” Madsen said. “They were especially surprised that there are doctors and nurses who remain on duty 24 hours a day for emergencies.”
Overall, the project fulfilled two Eagle Scout requirements for each boy. One being for service and the other served as a test of knowledge of tying square knots.
Rasmussen said the project had served as an excellent way for the boys to see their service work transpire to become a reality when they handed over the quilts to McCormick.
Although the boys were unable to see the babies receive the blankets, Madsen said that SVH staff assured them that five babies would each be sent home with one of the blankets the boys made.
“I just love to see the boys using the skills they learned in knot-tying to apply to the real world, and make them feel good about themselves for sending a baby home in a warm blanket,” Madsen said.
