Blanketing victims with comfort

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Blanketing victims with comfort

Members of the Title IX Team, Students, Faculty, and Staff show off Tie Blankets made to benefit domestic violence victims.

Title IX Team, Faculty & Staff unite to help victims of Domestic Violence

aculty, and Staff cut fabric to make Tie Blankets for domestic violence victims.

This Spring semester, the Title IX Team and WiND (Women in a New Direction) hosted a Tie Blanket Drive to help the YWCA.

Headed by the Title IX Coordinator Kyle Wilson, 11 students and four members of faculty & staff came together to create the no-sew, two-layered fleece blankets. They are made by cutting fringe along the edges of two stacked fabric pieces and tying them together in knots.

“Making a tie blanket is super simple,” Wilson explains. “ We purchased the fleece and at the event, the students layered the two pieces of fleece on top of each other. They then used scissors to cut notches around all 4 edges of the fleece. After that, they tied all the notches of fleece together and the blanket was finished! We had a limited amount of scissors to cut the fleece, so each blanket took about 30 minutes to create. If we had more scissors, you could make a tie blanket very quickly. “

The only materials the group needed were 2-yard or 1.5-yard segments of fleece, the 2-yard blankets made for adults and the 1.5-yard blankets for children.

“Generally the top of the blanket is a fun pattern, like dinosaurs, Buffalo Sabres, tie die, etc,” says Wilson. “The bottom of the blanket is traditional - a solid color to compliment the design on top.”

Utica’s Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT), a diverse alliance of dedicated advocates and professionals serving to educate, protect, and support the campus community provided the funding for the purchased materials. The team is overseen on campus by Director of Victim Advocacy and Violence Prevention Alicia Reed.

The idea for such an activity came when Wilson, who is new to the area, wanted to find something the team could do that was both interactive and help support the community. Knowing the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) already partnered with the Title IX office and others at the university to provide resources for victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence, Wilson thought it was a good way to keep these initiatives and groups intertwined.

“It seemed like a great fit to donate something to the YWCA as part of a programming initiative at the institution,” Wilson says.

Tie blankets made to benefit members of domestic violence.

YWCA Mohawk Valley provides free, confidential, 24-hour domestic and sexual violence crisis services across Oneida and Herkimer counties. They are the local experts in prevention education, survivor advocacy, and women's empowerment.

Then came meeting with leaders from Student Involvement and Leadership who recommended connecting and involving Women in a New Direction (WiND).

an intersectional-feminist, and historically Black femme-led organization at Utica University. The organization strives to provide a loving, bonding community to their members, raising women/intersectional feminists up, emotionally supporting and empowering them, along with supporting their drive for excellence in all their pursuits at Utica. The group and its members also look to bring a positive light to the Utica University community and greater Utica area through service, art/expression, and community-building events.

“Once I reached out to Zeniyah Gholson, the president of WiND, I knew it would be a perfect fit,” Wilson says. “They were eager to partner with us and do something to help the Utica Community.”

The activity was a hit with students, with many telling Wilson they’d love to do it again.

“I firmly believe that Title IX should partner with other offices and organizations inside and outside the university community,” says Wilson. “ I hope to continue to offer opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to partner and help support the university or Utica community in the coming years. “

Wilson hopes that the blankets students, faculty and staff made can be provided to survivors and children of Domestic and Sexual Violence to help them feel some comfort and warmth in an ongoing situation that has impacted their life.

“Having something as simple as a blanket can help a person feel at home no matter where they are. I hope that the people who assisted with this project learned the value of supporting others. Additionally, I hope that this event helped raise awareness regarding Title IX at Utica University. Everyone should know they are not alone, and I am here to help support students, faculty, and staff if they are ever involved in an incident of Domestic or Sexual Violence.”

University Students and employees can find more information regarding Title IX on the office’s website and if needed, can file a report here.