GREENE: Greenfield second grader donates blanket profits to library

By Editor | November 20, 2024 |

Eight-year-old Vivienne Pembrook shows off one of the many fleece blankets she has made and is selling with all of the proceeds being donated to the Greenfield Public Library. Pembrook has been making the blankets for almost a year now. (Submitted photo)

By Carmen Ensinger

What started out as a simple homemade gift from a second grader to her newborn cousin has turned into a fundraiser for the Greenfield Public Library.
Vivienne Pembrook, a second grader at Greenfield Elementary, wanted to do something special for her newborn cousin, Cooper. Her grandma, LouAnn Hubbard, who had an abundance of fleece left over from her over 40 years teaching Home Economics at both North Greene and Greenfield, suggested perhaps she make a blanket for the newborn.
“I have a lot of left over material and you get to a point in your life where you have to start getting rid of some stuff,” Hubbard said. “I had all of this fleece material left over from my teaching days and I wanted to put it to some good use and this seemed like a good project for Vivienne.”
Hubbard said her granddaughter started making her first blanket for her little cousin back around the first of the year when it was winter.
“I wanted to make a blanket for him because it was very cold,” Pembrook said. “My grandma said she would help me and I ended up having so much fun making that first blanket that I made another one and then another one and another one.”
Hubbard said at first Pembrook was only in charge of typing the strips to the ends of the fleece, but now, after almost a year, she is learning to actually cut the strips herself as well as typing them.
The project turned out to be a win-win for both of them – Hubbard was getting rid of some of the material she had stockpiled over the years and her granddaughter had found a new hobby to keep her busy while riding in the car or watching television.
Then, one day, both grandmother and granddaughter realized something. They had a lot of extra blankets laying around that they didn’t know what to do with. That is when Pembrook got an idea.
“I decided that maybe I could sell the blankets and make some money for somebody,” Pembrook said. “I chose to donate it to the library because I have always loved going to the library, but I would also like to help out the fire department.”
So, the pair took to social media and advertised the blankets for sale for $20 with all of the proceeds going to the Greenfield Public Library. They sold out of the dozen or so Pembrook had made in no time at all and had orders for more.
Unfortunately, Hubbard was also running out of the fleece material.
“We have been donating 100 percent to the library, but I don’t know how we will do it if there is a mad rush for them and we have to go out and buy more fabric,” Hubbard said. “The point of the project was to get rid of what I already had, but they would make great gifts and the money is going for a good cause.”
Pembrook was asked what she would like to see the library buy with the donations from the blankets.
“If they get enough, I would like for them to buy a little mini carpet for us to sit on for story hour,” she said. “They got new carpeting not too long ago, but I want something special for us to sit on.”