WILLMAR — With the temperature barely getting above zero Wednesday, the 38 fleece blankets that were given to residents at Bethesda were welcome gifts.
Seventh- and eighth-grade students, who are part of the Willmar Middle School’s On Track program, delivered the hand-tied blankets during brief visits to residents’ rooms.
The residents responded with laughs, big smiles and words of praise for the students.
The program, which is part of the students' regular curriculum, teaches life and job skills and also includes opportunities to volunteer their time and services.
During the year, the 13 students learn about financial literacy, careers and perform “random acts of kindness,” said instructor Julie Pieper. The students have cooked a meal for school staff prior to part-teacher conferences, visited the Hawk Creek Animal Shelter and next month will plan a food drive for the Kandiyohi County Food Shelf.
1/6: Pedro Reyes, left, and Aubri Guerrero, share a smile with Dorothy Johnson after the two Willmar Middle School students gave the Bethesda resident a handmade fleece blanket Wednesday. The students are part of the school's "On Track" program that made the blankets as part of their curriculum where they learn life-skills, job skills and volunteer their time and services to others. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune
2/6: Aubri Guerrero, left, and Pedro Reyes, share a smile with Dorothy Johnson after the two Willmar Middle School students gave the Bethesda resident a handmade fleece blanket Wednesday. The students are part of the school's "On Track" program that made the blankets as part of their curriculum where they learn life-skills, job skills and volunteer their time and services to others. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune
3/6: Louise Novotny, a resident at Bethesda in Willmar, laughs with Willmar eighth-grader Eleo Rodriguez Wednesday after receiving a hand-tied fleece blanket from a group of middle school students enrolled in the "On Track" program that teachers students different life skills, job skills and gives them opportunities to volunteer their time and services. The students made the blankets as part of the program's curriculum. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune
4/6: Willmar seventh- and eighth-grade students enrolled in the "On Track" program wait in the hallway at Bethesda Wednesday ready to hand out fleece blankets they made as part of the "On Track" program they participate in. The program teaches life skills, job skills and gives the students opportunities to volunteer. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune
5/6: John Carlson, a resident at Bethesda, is all smiles as Jasmine Cartagena gives him a fleece blanket Wednesday. Seventh-and eighth-grade students that participate in the Willmar Middle School's "On Track" program made the blankets are part of the curriculum that teaches them different life skills, job skills, and gives them opportunities to volunteer their time and services. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune
6/6: Shelna Lu, 13, gives a homemade fleece blanket to Hazel Allen Wednesday during a visit with residents at Bethesda in Willmar. Seventh- and eighth-grade students in the Willmar Middle School's "On Track" program made the blankets as part of their curriculum where they learn life-skills, job skills and volunteer their time and services to others. Carolyn Lange / West Central Tribune
