On Campus

Students Making a Difference

RESHMI NILUS ’22 Cards for Cancer and Project Generosity

started making cards in sixth grade to earn an allowance. At the time, I was selling greeting cards to my teachers, friends and around the neighborhood.

In eighth grade, I started learning more about breast cancer and the ongoing research trials at multiple renowned institutes. I decided to combine my love of making cards with doing good in the community. Knowing very well I could not help this cause in the physical lab due to age and lack of a degree, I decided to raise funds for the cause. To reach a broader client base, I also created a website that marketed the cards to people across the nation. So far, we have received orders from across the U.S., including California, Texas and Washington.

Even with the website, I knew I wanted to help more. So, I conducted fundraisers for the same cause. This sister

Iorganization is called Project Generosity. We host fundraisers of various types, from bake sales to jogathons, to generate even more money. I continue to work on these nonprofi ts and am always working on new Project Generosity ideas!

In total, we have raised over $2,000 for research. All our proceeds go to the Salk Institute in San Diego. We found that the fundraisers by Project Generosity raise more money, so we are looking forward to producing additional events.

Each fundraiser takes about 72 hours of planning and baking, with 12 hours of sales and deliveries (with COVID, we had to take many extra safety measures). I recruit volunteers of all ages and rely on the help of friends and family. During the last effort, we had 11 volunteers!

hen Sarah Bosworth ’17 was 15 years old, she had to stay at Seattle Children’s Hospital with a staph infection. While there, she noticed the itchy and thin covers in the fi rst room she stayed in. The following day she was moved to a different room where there was a purple fl eece tie blanket on the bed, making her immediately feel more warm, safe and comfortable.

She wanted to make sure every child in the hospital could have that same feeling of warmth and comfort she did when she had the fl eece blanket. From her experience, she started Kiddos Cuddles, with the simple mission of providing a fl eece tie blanket to every child in the hospital to help them feel safe during their stay.

W

When Sarah graduated, she passed the responsibility and organization on to Annie Becker ’20 and Audrey Charters ’20 and they led Kiddos Cuddles until they graduated. They then passed Kiddos Cuddles on to Fabiana Pulido ’21, who then passed it on to me! I will be graduating this year and will pass the organization to Alejandro Pulido ‘24, Fabiana’s younger brother.

After hearing about Sarah’s experience and learning more about her story, I knew I wanted to play a larger part in Kiddos Cuddles. I love this organization because we help make patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital more comfortable when they are in an unfamiliar place and already going through so much. I know hospitals can be scary, so I want every child to have the best experience possible. To be a part of that effort has been incredible. Due to COVID-19 and safety precautions, Seattle Children’s stopped accepting donations this year. But as Kiddos Cuddles has continued to receive blanket donations, we decided to make a temporary change during these strange times. For the present, the blankets are going to Mary’s Place, a shelter to help women, children and their families while they are homeless. We hope that Seattle Children’s Hospital will accept our blanket donations soon, but we’re glad we can help our community in other ways to make people feel safe and comfortable. Thank you to EC students and all the other students in the area for helping make Kiddos Cuddles possible. Remember to keep making blankets and to keep donating!