Stitched with love: Rosenbaum nabs state award
Megan Strickland
McKalistar Rosenbaum sews quilt squares at her family’s kitchen table in Charlo
Megan Strickland
McKalistar Rosenbaum is buried beneath a mountain of blankets she quilted for cancer patients.
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
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CHARLO – McKalistar Rosenbaum’s senior project was meant to be a simple tribute to her teenage friend Rebecca Smith who died of leukemia, but the labor of love ended up winning the favor of a national scholarship contest.
On Feb. 11, the Charlo senior was announced as a state distinguished finalist in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide contest that recognizes outstanding volunteerism by youth across the United States. She will receive a bronze engraved medallion for her efforts, which included quilting 11 blankets that were given to cancer and burn patients across the United States.
Rosenbaum said she and her mother, Cari, brainstormed ideas for a senior project together and settled on making blankets for cancer patients in memory of Smith, a Charlo teenager whose life was cut short by cancer.
“I look back and I think I did not do enough for her,” Rosenbaum said. “This was kind of a way to do a little extra for her, even though it’s a little too late, but I thought it would be nice for others. I know going through chemo you get cold and these are nice, thick blankets that can maybe make it a little less horrible.”
Cari Rosenbaum bought bolts of materials for the project after Thanksgiving 2012. Then mom and daughter spent most of the summer of 2013 piecing the quilts together before the school year and the frenzy of Cari’s senior year began.
“It took over my kitchen table,” Cari Rosenbaum said.
The project took approximately 100 hours of work. When finished, the Rosenbaum family asked around to find suitable homes for the blankets. They became connected with people in their own community and scattered across the United States. One quilt went to a Frenchtown church member, another to a cousin battling breast cancer, two to small boys who suffered burns and another to an 8-year-old girl.
Rosenbaum sent the blankets with a tag that explained what she had done for the project. One person responded to the gift.
“She gave me a thank you letter,” Rosenbaum said. “She’s eight and her family let me know how thankful they were. That was pretty awesome.”
She found another recipient on Facebook; the girl posted a picture of herself with her blanket.
“That was pretty cool,” Rosenbaum said.
On top of the project, Rosenbaum juggled multiple school athletic and academic activities. Last week she began taking a Certified Nursing Assistant course at St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan. She completes her homework at home throughout the week and turns it in on Mondays. The rest of the week in spent in Ronan, learning how to be a nurse’s assistant. Rosenbaum is one of six participants that were selected from a pool of 30 applicants. She hopes the course will help jumpstart a career as a registered nurse.
When Superintendent Thom Peck told the Charlo School Board about Rosenbaum winning the award for her volunteerism, his words were short and to the point.
“She’s very deserving,” Peck said.
