Fleece & Thank You
Make a blanket. Make a video. Make a difference.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Imagine a hospital room. Dull, white sheets on the bed. Scary beeps and boops of the monitors on the IV pole. A cold, bone-chilling temperature that makes you shiver. It’s a scary environment to think about, and yet, every minute in America, 11 children are admitted into the hospital and face this very intimidating experience. Stripped from their everyday routine of friends, school, sports, and activities, they are scared of the unknown future that will come with an extended hospital stay. Right now, we face a reality that needs our urgent attention: many kids go into the hospital and are met with the scary room we just imagined. They begin their treatments in a fearful atmosphere, and a little voice in their head says, “I am defeated already.” They are in need of comfort. They are in need of warmth. They are in need of hope.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Community Blanket-Making Events
We make blankets and video messages with community groups.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Community Blanket-Making Events
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Each year our goal is to provide comfort and support to the 30,000 kids on average that enter the hospital for treatments.
Number of youth-led community service projects
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Community Blanket-Making Events
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These were our largest-tier community events, however we have had over 50 youth-lead service projects (Girl/boy scouts, spots teams, schools, greek system, National Honor Society, golden Key, etc).
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
A colorful, warm piece of hope brightening the room as it waits on the hospital bed for a warrior (the name we call our blanket recipients) to walk in for the start of treatment.
The key to a child conquering the scary hospital environment is to provide them with something bright and comforting to combat the darkness. There is an inspiring power behind starting something off on a good note.
We can provide that motivation to endure long treatments, the kickstart to a successful battle, and the hope that everything is going to be alright.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our mission is to provide donors the unique opportunity to give comfort and hope to children by creating a fleece blanket and a personalized video message. The healing connection we foster by linking blanket makers to children with illnesses allows us to cheer them on at the starting line of their treatment journey. Children thrive on love and acceptance. The videos that come from every blanket maker are comforting and inspiring to the child as they realize they are not in this alone; there are people on the outside of the hospital walls who care about their fight.
We work with members of the community to make blankets and video messages, and then we deliver that comfort to the hospital. Our goal is a simple one: every child in every hospital bed receiving much-needed hope in the form of a colorful, fleece blanket at the start of treatment. We believe every warrior deserves armor for their battle, and we will continue this work until we guarantee that for every child entering the hospital for inpatient treatments.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our signature program is our blanket-making event. We host over 400 blanket-making events every year to help us achieve our goal of making 30,000 fleece blankets, one blanket for every child in Michigan that goes into the hospital for inpatient treatments. Through our blanket making program, we are able to service hospitals all across Michigan.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As Fleece & Thank You continues to grow (we grew 566% from year 1 to year 2, and we just to hit our third birthday in October of 2018), we have big plans to continue to improve the hospital atmosphere and treatment journey for our kids in the hospital. We have a vision as strong as they come backed by a grassroots foundation with major momentum.
We are strategically rolling out our vision one step and one program at a time, starting now with blankets, videos, and resource packets and going as far as mobile applications, virtual reality therapy, school curriculums, and in-hospital media services.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Fleece & Thank You
Board of directorsas of 02/16/2023
David Spencer
Independence Innovations
Term: 2020 - 2021
Alissa Crawford
Doeren Mayhew
Paul Davis
Independence Innovations
Edward Nakfoor
Joe Rohatynski
Joe PR
Javous Nicks
Xenith
Sherry Huffman
Former Human Resources for Oakwood Health and Beaumont
Dr Krista Mesi
Pediatric Hospitalist- Ascension St. John Children's Hospital
Lisa Beach
David Spencer
Former President of Walsh College, Owner of Independence Innovations
Denton Farley
Fly Consulting
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/07/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.