Over thirty people gathered in room 203 of the University Student Union Thursday night to make blankets that will go to homeless people living on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
The Build a Blanket Workshop, hosted by Cal State Long Beach’s Lambda Theta Alpha sorority, had a goal of making 100 fleece blankets for people living on the streets this winter.
The sorority emphasizes that nights can get very cold in Los Angeles during the winter and people who are on the streets don’t have much to keep them warm. Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles is a .4 square mile area between Third and Seventh Streets from Main Street to Alameda Street and is also where 3 percent of the county’s population resides, according to Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
There are an estimated 8,000 to 11,000 people living on Skid Row.
Freshman member Valeria Cortez explained that, traditionally, her sorority collects clothes and blankets to donate to an event called Project Street Heat. However, this year’s leadership decided to change things up by asking The Beach community to help make fleece blankets.
“There have been a lot of events that benefit the homeless,” Cortez said. “For example, donations of monetary [value] or food. But this event actually was hands-on, and you’re making something special and useful that these individuals will be able to utilize in the cold weather coming up.”
Guests participate in making blankets with materials the sorority provided while chatting with each other and choosing from an array of colorful fleece.
“In the past, we paid out of pocket to purchase blankets for the Project Street Heat event” said sorority sister Desiree Diaz. “This year, we applied for a grant from CSULB ASI to have funding for the materials and we received it.”
Cortez and her fellow sorority sisters lead workshops showing people a few different methods to make unique and creative blankets. Blankets were cut into fringes along the edge and tied up, creating a braided look while others were simply sewn along the edge with colorful thread.
The workshop almost reached its mark, making 60 fleece blankets that will go to the homeless living in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Although they fell short of their objective, Cortez said she was extremely satisfied with the turnout of the event.
“We promoted this event with organizations and the cultural Greeks on campus and we are happy we got the support from them. We really felt the unity.” Cortez said. “Being the first year we do this event, we are happy on how successful it was and we hope to continue this event for the following years.”
The sorority will continue collecting donations for the 13th Annual Project Street Heat. Donations can be given by contacting the sorority.
They encourage volunteers to join them on Dec. 17, when they will deliver donated clothes and blankets.