Sherwood Heights Elementary School students hand blankets Friday to Greg and Sue Whitney of the Pleasant Street Drop-in Center in Auburn. Students held a blanket drive this month after seeing and reading about unhoused people living in tents throughout the city. “Many of our kids saw those tents this summer,” sixth-grade teacher Kris Samson said of those living on the lawn of the Pleasant Street church. “We are teaching the kids how to care for one another, about civic responsibility and about compassion,” she said. “These blankets are going to make a huge difference,” Greg Whitney said. From left are Mason Bennett, Katie Marchand, Emelia Vincent, Nathan Loudermilk, Sue Whitney and Greg Whitney. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Emilia Vincent, left, Katie Marchand and Nathan Loudermilk carry blankets Friday to Greg and Sue Whitney’s car at Sherwood Heights Elementary School in Auburn. The students held a blanket drive this month after seeing and reading about unhoused people living in tents throughout the city, presenting them to the Pleasant Street Drop-in Center in Auburn. “These blankets are going to make a huge difference,” Greg Whitney said. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Sixth-grade teacher Kris Samson tells Greg Whitney on Friday about the blanket made by hand by one of her co-workers at Sherwood Heights Elementary School in Auburn. Students held a blanket drive this month and donated the collection to the Pleasant Street Drop-in Center. Whitney said the unhoused population use blankets in layers to keep warm while living outside. “These blankets are going to make a huge difference,” he said. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal