Good Samaritan Blanket Drive Returns for 31st Year

ZANESVILLE, OH – A beloved blanket drive is returning to help warm up those less fortunate in our community.

The 31st Good Samaritan Blanket Blanket Drive kicked off on Monday and runs until the end of the Month.

Carol Kohler, the President of the Good Samaritan Alumni, said former students should’ve received a mailer with a QR code to make a monetary donation if you’re unable to donate a blanket.

“The Class of 1960, they were a wonderful class. I can’t say enough about them.” Kohler said. “They saw an ad in the paper from Eastside, they saw an ad in the paper so they thought they would try it and so they did it and the first year was such a success that they went to the, we have a luncheon every year in June, they went and put it before the people that came. We would get about 100, 120 out of those for our luncheons.”

Kohler said she is amazed at the Ohio University Zanesville Nursing students that have stepped up each year to make this drive bigger and better.

There will be blanket donation boxes located around the buildings of OUZ’s campus as well as one in the lobby at Genesis Hospital.

Teresa Polen, an Assistant Professor of Instruction in Nursing at OUZ, said the students are having a little friendly competition during this year’s blanket drive.

“We are doing a competition between our nursing students, so we’re taking the 2-year degree nurses competing against the 4-year degree nurses.” Polen said. “To see who can collect the most blankets in that period of time, so we will run until the end of November and then the plan is to distribute to Eastside Community Ministry, who will then distribute it to the community from there.”

Over the years the Good Samaritan Blanket Drive has brought in 12,000 blankets as well as around $35,000.

For more information about the Blanket Drive, you can reach out to Teresa Polen at (740)-588-1543.