FEATURE
Canyon Ridge Principal Jill Hoppe and Ollie McNeil pose with blankets at the school.
A group photo of the blanket donation to the City of Surprise Police Department. More than 870 were donated in total.
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BLANKETS
hen he was 10 years old, Ollie McNeil was struck by an idea when his mom was tucking him into bed one night. He was a bit chilly and uncomfortable and complained to his mom who responded to the teachable moment. “I explained to Ollie that there are people who are not as fortunate as us in our community that don’t have a home, a warm bed, or even a blanket to keep them comfortable and safe at night,” said Brooke McNeil. What his mother shared stuck in Ollie’s brain, and he had a lightbulb moment and reached out to his mom to do something about it. “I was originally inspired to start Buddy Blankets after talking to my mom and learning that some people don’t have a home to sleep in at night, or even one blanket to keep them warm,” said Ollie. Ollie first reached out to his dad, Ryan McNeil, with the City of Surprise Police Department, who contacted the Victim’s Advocate with the police department who works directly with organizations who would benefit from the Buddy Blanket drive. “There are countless times I have sought out the support for a family or victim in need,” said Sandra Espinoza, City of Surprise Police Department Victim’s Advocate. “We love the blanket drive, what it stands for, the collaboration it requires, and the outcome of providing blankets to children and families in need.” 18 APRIL 2020
Additionally, Ollie, an avid hockey player and goalie for Mission Arizona approached his coach, Jeremy Goltz to help with the blanket drive effort. “I found it very cool and ambitious for a ten year old to even be thinking about something like this let alone taking the steps to make it happen. It is quite impressive for a kid this young to have such a drive,” said Goltz. Ollie spoke to his teammates and encouraged them to contribute and collection bins were placed at the hockey rink and the City of Surprise Police Department in order for the community to donate to the effort. “Ollie has always been a stand out goalie and just the ultimate team player. His character speaks for itself both on and off the ice,” said Coach Goltz. The inaugural drive provided 150 blankets to organizations throughout the Valley and the effort has increased each and every year. “To see how it’s grown with the support and encouragement of the adults Ollie has reached out to is just amazing,” said Ollie’s mom, Brooke. This past year, to drum up support, a friendly competition was proposed between his school, Canyon Ridge and Kingswood Elementary School. The school that collected the most blankets provided school spirit gear to the losing principal to wear on spirit Friday. Kingswood collected 358 blankets and Canyon Ridge came in at 297 total. Jill Hoppe, Canyon Ridge principal,