When Madelyn Kellen was growing up, her family always performed community service together during the holiday season, whether that meant volunteering at a soup kitchen or helping a family in need. When she went off to Marymount University, the Ashburn native decided to continue the tradition with a dozen of her new friends, who made 22 fleece-tie blankets for a local crisis pregnancy shelter.
This year the project really took off. At a resident assistant service party on Dec. 5, more than 60 Marymount students made 141 blankets for Hope in Northern Va. Inc. The effort was led by Kellen, a resident assistant in Rowley Hall.
Eight other RAs helped organize the event: Senior J.C. Hoellich; Sophomore Robert Hoffman; Senior Juna Luzi; Senior Chesney Rhodes; Senior Kate Schmidt; Junior Rosemary O’Connor; Sophomore Taylor Rivera-Silva; and Graduate Student Elizabeth Beaulieu.