Sixty third-graders of Doyne Lewis’ and Lesley Wister’s classes at La Sierra Elementary School took blankets they had handmade to the Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley on Sept. 14. They presented the blankets to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that gives them to mothers to wrap their newborns in for the journey home. Often, these mothers have very little to give their babies.

In return, the children, wearing surgical masks, got to see the tiny babies, nurseries, incubators and birthing rooms up close and ask questions.

The classes have been making blankets for more than 10 years, says Lewis. It began when they made blankets for AIDS orphans in Africa and gave them to La Sierra University for a Stahl Center project.

About five years ago, a parent who works at RCRMC said that the newborns there needed blankets and suggested that the third-graders make blankets for them. The idea caught on, especially when the children realized they could visit the neonatal units. Lewis says the children are wide-eyed with the wonder of new life, and ask questions about the babies and their mothers which nurses patiently answer.

Some of the mothers come from prison to have their babies at the hospital, and must return. As the students tie the blankets with yarn, they pray for the mothers and their babies that God will bless and protect them.

Parents help in the classroom by purchasing supplies and threading needles. “This is one of our favorite field trips of the year,” Lewis said. “What a blessing for our children to share their blankets and see the babies from an hour to a day old. This creates a wonderful memory for them to treasure.”

“Each year we like to involve our children in as many outreach projects as possible, and our trip to the hospital is by far the most rewarding,” she concluded. “Children learn firsthand that following the golden rule gives joy and happiness to others, as well as themselves.”