NEWS RELEASE
Apri 19, 2018
For immediate release
Media contact: Cara Scarola Hansen, Marketing Director
561-345-3103
PHOTO ID:
(L-R) Co-founders of Blankets of Love, Lily Guari, Mercedes Cassidy, and Johnny Cassidy, hold up a blanket that will be distributed to a cancer patient at their first fundraising event at Atlantis Skateway.
Rosarian Servant Leaders Spread Warmth and Love to Cancer Patients One Blanket at a time
Two Rosarian Academy servant leaders, Mercedes Cassidy (8th grade) and Lily Guari (7th grade), have taken the initiative to give back to the community and do good for others. Mercedes and Lily, along with friend and brother, Johnny Cassidy, co-founded the local non-profit, Blankets of Love, in May 2017. These outstanding and philanthropic students are spreading warmth and love to cancer patients, one blanket at a time. Over the past 11 months, they have distributed over 250 blankets.
Blankets of Love held its first fundraiser this past Sunday, April 15, 2018, at Atlantis Skateway in Lake Worth with over 60 people in attendance. The event was a great success in raising money to purchase additional blankets for community organizations supporting cancer patients.
Lily, Mercedes, and Johnny are lifelong friends who realize the importance of giving back to their community. They are bonded by similar stories of loved ones struggling with cancer and created Blankets of Love with the goal of spreading goodwill to those in need of comfort and support. Realizing that cancer can put patients in an isolated and lonely place, they serve with the idea that “a small gesture of kindness can truly make a difference in their lives.”
The Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce is honoring Blankets of Love as the 2018 Non-Profit of the Year at their final breakfast of the season on Thursday, May 3 at The Breakers.
For more information on Blankets of Love, visit blanketsoflovepalmbeach.com.
Rosarian Academy, founded in 1925, educates students from early childhood through eighth grade and offers an exceptionally strong academic program enriched by athletics, visual and performing arts, and community service opportunities. The independent, Catholic school is located on Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach and is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. For more information, visit www.rosarian.org or call 561.345.3106.
