Hawken Student Attends Taping on WJW Ch. 8

Middle Schooler Mary Margaret Horsburgh attended a recent taping of and made a brief appearance on \"That`s Life\" with Robin Swoboda on WJW Channel 8. The two joined Karen and Ashley Imbrogno, the founders of Warming the Hearts, an organization that provides blankets to children in hospitals throughout Northeast Ohio, which Ashley, a fifth grader at St. Gabriel`s in Mentor, and Karen, her mom, created after Ashley`s bout with a life-threatning illness and stay at Rainbow Babies and Children`s Hospital. \"I realized how lucky I was to have such a wonderful hospital near by and come home with a positive diagnosis. Others there are not so lucky,\" Ashley wrote in a letter calling for volunteers. \"Many kids spend weeks in the hospital with their parents coming and going. It was at that point I realized that I wanted to do something to help make the children`s stay a little better. \"I wanted to make them a blanket to keep them warm, when their parent`s arm weren`t there to wrap around them.\" The Horsburghs became involved when Christine Horsburgh found out about the program and tracked Ashley and her mom down so that she and her children could get involved in making the fleece tie blankets. That support has now led to a Hawken cross-divisional service learning experience that will have students help in creating the blankets once Ashley and Karen get more material. Last year, Warming the Hearts received over $8,000 in cash donations and made and delivered 385 blankets. This year, the goal is to receive $10,000, of which half has already been donated. The Imbrognos are planning to host several events to generate more cash donations to purchase the fleece. To donate or for more information, call 216-287-2731. Send all financial contributions to 9985 Stone Hollow Road, Mentor, OH, 44060. Checks should be payable to Ashley Imbrogno-Warming the Hearts. The deadline is Monday, December 10. Check back soon to find out what Hawken students learned from the experience.