2012-13 Odyssey Angels
2012-13 Blue Valley Odyssey Angels with Director Cheryl Micklus.
The Blue Valley Odyssey Angels of Overland Park, Kansas helped foster children in their community by creating special care packages for kids entering foster homes. They were inspired by a newspaper article about Tammy Spears, a local woman with 17 adopted children. They contacted her to see how they could help other kids in their area.
After brainstorming with Ms. Spears, they decided that blankets would not only comfort them, but would also give the children something of their own – a luxury many foster children do not have. The Blue Valley Angels then worked together to solicit local craft stores for fabric donations and even did research and learned to sew.
As their skills blossomed, not only did they create blankets, but went on to create care packages out of homemade bags and toys, complete with a note from each of the team members. They donated them to a local foster home. While these items might seem small, they mean a great deal to those often overlooked.
Once the Blue Valley Odyssey Angels learned their project earned them a trip to World Finals, the group decided to take their project to the world level. They procured more donated materials from Joann’s Fabrics and pledged their entire time in Michigan to teaching others to create blankets. Over three days, WF teams made 256 blankets with the help of over 1,000 people from seven countries. The blankets were donated to several foster agencies including one in Michigan and others in Missouri and Kansas.
These Odyssey Angels showed true spirit by continuing their project past the deadline and using their time to help others instead of enjoying other World Finals activities.
The Ingham County Department of Human Services in Michigan was among the many grateful recipients of the blankets. It commended the Odyssey Angels project, “We have been amazed by your actions. It is wonderful knowing that there are youth in our community willing to help other children who may be going through some very trying times. Actions speak louder than words and what you have done will undoubtedly bring them some much needed solace. This act of kindness is more than you can imagine.”
Thank you Blue Valley Odyssey Angels!
Below is a video the group members made about the project, they showed it when receiving their award at Opening Ceremonies to help others realize the needs of foster children and to advertise their expanded project at the Creativity Festival.
The group has also received media attention. Read a feature article here from its local newspaper and watch a television interview of the team here.