Peters Township senior donating fleece blankets to those in need
Katherine Mansfield/For the Observer-Reporter
Rachael Gavlik in her Peters Township home, in front of some of the 600 blankets she made to donate to the Peters Township Meals on Wheels and Washington County shelters.
Katherine Mansfield/For the Observer-Reporter
An uplifting handwritten note that Rachael Gavlik attached to one of the knotted fleece blankets she crafted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Katherine Mansfield/For the Observer-Reporter
Rachael Gavlik, a Peters Township High School senior, has made blankets and cards, and has hand-drawn art on brown bags and place mats for Peters Township Meals on Wheels and other organizations.
Rachael Gavlik, right, was inspired to undertake an acts of kindness project after meeting tattoo artist and Ink Master Laura Marie in the spring.
Courtesy pf Rachael Gavlik
Rachael Gavlik filled and donated 200 boxes to Operation Christmas Child.
In this 2020 file photo, Rachael Gavlik poses with some of the boxes she filled and donated to Operation Christmas Child.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, 18-year-old Rachael Gavlik has been busy making blankets – a lot of blankets – to warm people’s bodies and their souls.
The Peters Township High School senior has crafted more than 600 knotted fleece blankets that she will donate this week to the Peters Township Meals on Wheels and Washington County shelters to distribute to men, women and children who need them.
Each blanket comes with a handwritten note neatly printed on a tag.
“Hand-knotted with love and prayers! May this bring you comfort and joy!” Gavlik wrote on one tag, adding a heart in the top corner.
Gavlik hopes the blankets – a tangible big, warm hug – will let recipients know that somebody cares about them.
“Knowing someone out there cares about you, even if you don’t know who they are, that can make a difference in your life,” said Gavlik. “Especially when you’re going through a tough time, it’s good to know that someone does care.”
Gavlik spent as many as 12 to 14 hours on some weekends making the blankets for the project, which she dubbed 1 Million Knots. Any time she found a spare moment, she’d work on a blanket.
“We’d be in the car and she’d bring blankets and tie knots,” said Gavlik’s mother, Tammi.
The pair became regulars at JoAnn Fabric, where they made trips to purchase the fleece.
“We’d load the cart up with bolts of fabric, in different patterns, and take it to the checkout. People would ask what we were doing with it, and they were surprised that I was making the blankets to donate,” Gavlik said.
Gavlik ties a third knot – an extra knot – on one tie of each blanket. Three, she said, is her favorite number, “so that way I can put a little bit of myself into each blanket.”
The Gavliks’ family room has been temporarily overrun by the blankets – colorful plaids and paisleys and checks and other patterns rolled and stacked 7 feet high – but Gavlik’s mother doesn’t mind.
“Actually, that’s where we’ll put the Christmas tree, but we can’t put the tree up until the blankets are gone,” Tammi Gavlik said with a laugh. “But I look at it as her realizing that she is blessed and that it’s important to give back to those who are less fortunate. It’s morphed into something big for her, and I’m touched that she’s done something that will make a difference and that people can actually hold onto.”
For Gavlik, the idea to lift others who are at a low point sprung from personal experience.
A victim of bullying, she said she “was not mentally in a place that was pleasant. It was a dark time in my life.”
But an encounter at a tattoo convention in Pittsburgh this spring with renowned tattoo artist and “Ink Master” contestant Laura Marie, who provided her with words of encouragement and support, motivated her to “pay it forward.”
“It was the weekend before everything shut down because of COVID. She brought such positivity into my life, and she’s been a source of inspiration for me,” said Gavlik. “She took the time to encourage me, and it meant a lot to me. Talking with her and doing these projects has definitely allowed me to be more confident in my interactions with people.”
Gavlik said she doesn’t want anyone to go through “that same feeling of hopelessness that I felt.”
In addition to making the blankets, Gavlik has donated more than 200 hand-decorated bags and more than 100 hand-drawn place mats to Meals on Wheels, and has created and sent comfort cards, including some 3-D cards.
The place mats were sent to Meals on Wheels clients on Thanksgiving Day to accompany a traditional turkey dinner.
“It shows (the clients) that people are thinking about them. They love getting personal things included when we deliver to them,” said Susan Hanawalt, director of Peters Township Meals on Wheels. “It absolutely makes a difference. It was a wonderful gesture, and we appreciated it.”
Gavlik also filled and donated 200 boxes for Operation Christmas Child, which are sent to children in impoverished or war-torn countries around the world.
Gavlik has completed those projects while maintaining a 5.4 weighted GPA and adding a perfect score on the math portion of her SAT. She also serves as president of the forensics team and secretary for the National Honor Society, and is a member of the Math Club, Science Club and Math League.
She also works part-time at Salt of the Earth, a salt cave in McMurray, and she has used, for the most part, her job earnings to pay for the supplies and materials she needs – including stuffed animals, soap, crayons, water bottles and toys for the Christmas boxes – for her projects.
Gavlik has been accepted to Duquesne University and is awaiting acceptance at other colleges. She is considering careers as a pharmacist, dermatologist, or physician’s assistant. She also plans to minor in Spanish, to be able to communicate with those who might not speak English.
Gavlik plans to continue with her acts of kindness. In the works are projects for upcoming holidays, including Valentine’s Day cards and Easter baskets.
“I have this inner desire to help others, and I cannot imagine spending my time doing anything else,” said Gavlik. “I think a lot of that comes from me overcoming my struggle with being bullied, and if I have an opportunity to help others, I love nothing more than doing that.”