By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
BELLEVILLE -- The emotional warmth of Christine Ray-Strutt's blankets is matched only by the love in her heart.
Over the past few years, the Belleville woman and her helpers have created and distributed more than 1,000 blankets to children's hospitals and individual children battling health issues through the Connor's Cuddles Foundation. Christine established the foundation in the memory of her late son, Connor.
"I started Connor's Cuddles in March of 2017 with the idea that if I made 30-40 cuddles a year and deliver them to Children's Mercy in KC, which is where Connor received treatment, that it would help my heart a little," Christine told Salina Post.
About Connor
The following is an excerpt from Connor's Journey on the the Connor's Cuddles Facebook page.
"Connor was an active, sports loving, animal loving, children loving, normal teenager until September 16, 2014 when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins T-cell lymphoma. In June of 2015, after undergoing 9 months of intense chemo, he was in remission and the maintenance phase began. He was back to being a normal teenager and soaking up life. Back to school, basketball, proms, track, spending time with family and friends. At a track meet on May 3, he was experiencing extreme pain in his hips as he was pole vaulting. We returned to Children’s Mercy on May 6 and discovered that he had relapsed. We immediately started treatment again, unfortunately, the treatments did not work. Connor fought with all he had, but was welcomed into the Lord’s open arms on August 20, 2016. Oh, how we miss him! I chose to start Connor’s Cuddles in his memory and is my way to continue to spread love in his name and keep his spirit alive."
Many blankets in a few years
Christine said that she started making the cuddles (blankets) with the help of some family members. She said that the first delivery of blankets was in June of 2017.
"For a couple of years now, it has been my mom, in Norton, Beanie, a lady that lives here in Belleville, and myself," Christine explained. "My mom and Beanie help me keep my stock up for deliveries to Children's Mercy in KC and the Children's Hospital in Omaha, as well as a load of them to University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital."
Occasionally, others will donate blankets as well, she added.
"I stay busy making and shipping out special request cuddles all over the United States. We have delivered approximately 800 to children's hospitals and shipped out about 350 to 38 different states and two other countries," Christine said.
Despite that tremendous number of blankets in just a few years, more could always be used.
"Sadly, the need is never ending. I see increases in the special requests we receive, and I know that we are not even touching the tip of the iceberg," Christine told Salina Post.
The blankets are made of fleece material and come in a variety of patterns.
Christine explained that when the foundation delivers blankets to the children's hospitals, she takes a variety of designs for girls and boys, including blankets with animals, sports, hunting, flowers, Disney characters, etc.
"When I receive a special request, I ask what some of their favorite things are. I then go buy that specific fleece especially for that child to make it a bit more special," she said.
Christine was quick to point out, however, that while many of the blankets are for younger children, the foundation does make blankets for older children as well.
"Seems like a lot of our requests come for little ones, but Connor, battling from 16-18 years old, still liked to bring his personal blankets with him to treatments," she explained.
Another kind of help
Recently, the Connor's Cuddles Foundation got a boost from some people a few counties to the south in the form of Salina's Sunset Sinners. The band posted the following on its Facebook page.
Sinner Nation : We are proud to partner with & help out Christine Ray-Strutt with her Connor's Cuddles Foundation which provides custom personalized blankets across the USA for little tykes that are battling cancer. The Sunset Sinners & our friends at Miller Lite & Crown Distributors have produced these grey "Always Time For One More Beer" Tees available right now for just $20ea. with 100% of proceeds going to Connors Cuddles!
The T-shirts also are available at Midwest Music in Salina.
"When Blake (Blackim) reached out to me about Connor's Cuddles and wanting to help my foundation out, I was surprised to say the least. The more we can spread awareness about our foundation, the more lives we can hopefully touch," Christine said. "Then we he came up with the t-shirt promotion, I was truly touched. What a great bunch of guys!"
The future
Christine said her goal with the Connor's Cuddles Foundation is to "hopefully bring a smile and a bit of comfort to children who are fighting big battles, as well as honoring our son." She does, however, look to the future.
"I would love to see my foundation grow to, one day, be able to offer even a little bit of support to the families, be it a gift card for a tank of gas or a meal to be included with each cuddle we send. Hopefully, someday, I can also donate funding to help with childhood cancer research to find better treatment options for these children and one day eradicate cancer," she said.
If you would like to help Connor's Cuddles Foundation or have a request for a blanket, you can contact Christine on the Connor's Cuddles Facebook page or via email at [email protected].