Warm Up the Holidays: Blankets for Kidney Patients

Two students from Branford are giving back to the greater New Haven area with the intent to keep dialysis patients warm.

For the second year in a row, they are holding , a grassroots blanket drive for patients of the New Haven Avantus Dialysis Center and this time around they are also including clients served at the Branford, Milford and North Haven branches. If you would like to donate a new or gently used blanket you can call 203-481-4680 or 203-494-9158 for pick-up or drop off blankets at the centers in your town; see locations below.

Last year, now eighth grade students at WIS, Anneliese Troidle and Cassandra Collins had to come up with a plan to give back around the holidays as part of former teacher Maureen Welch’s Make a Difference Project. Anneliese shared that her mom, Laura Troidle works with dialysis patients and that’s how she got the idea to collect blankets.

Of the patients she said, “They come three times a week and stay a really long time [four hours] just to stay alive.” Cassandra added, “Since they cool down the blood, it gets really, really cool and the blankets warm them up.”

Laura explains that the more than 350 dialysis patients treated in the New Haven area receive one pint of processed and chilled blood at a time from the artificial kidney at the center. The average age of patients is 65, she said, and most clients get cold during treatments year-round, not just in the winter.

Last year more than 100 blankets were brought to the New Haven center by the students but the need is even greater in other centers. “We’d love to get a blanket for everyone,” said Laura.

Having visited the New Haven center that serves a spectrum of clients, Anneliese said she has been touched by the patients. “Some of them, their family is not close to them ­– the blankets can be the only Christmas present they get.”

Friends since meeting in kindergarten at , the girls are active members of the Branford community and both volunteer in Helping Hands as classroom assistants in the school where they met. Anneliese has hopes to become a teacher and Cassandra is deadest on becoming a lawyer.

“I’m proud of them,” said Laura, “because they picked a project for school because they had to but now the realize it’s really important what they did and they want to do it again.”

“It makes me feel good,” said Anneliese, “when I do something good for someone else.” Cassandra added, “I try to do something good for someone everyday then they will do something good and it will start a whole chain.”

Anneliese and Cassandra were also recently featured on WTNH News 8 when they offered an Early Christmas Gift to neighbor Ashley Pfeiffer, 20,  who joined the Navy and left for boot camp the Monday after Thanksgiving. 

To donate a blanket and have the girls pick it up, please call 203-481-4680 or 203-494-9158.

Drop Off Blankets at these Avantus Dialysis Centers

 New Haven, 137 Water Street

Branford, 34 East Industrial Road

Milford, 50 Commerce Park Drive

North Haven, 266 State Street