Fashion Club at South may be known for their clothing and designs, but what goes on off the runway has the potential to change that. Not only do they spend their afternoons watching new episodes of Project Runway, they also manage to reach out to children in need.

During Southapalooza, an event that took place during Homecoming week, the club was selling gold and blue scrunchies to students, Melissa Regan, sponsor of Fashion Club, shares. According to Regan, they did this to raise funds for a service project that had been in the works for a while.

“We thought of this idea last year, [but due] to some complications, we weren’t really able to make it happen,” Regan said. “We had it as our number one goal for this upcoming year.”

By raising funds through the sale of scrunchies, they are hoping to use the resources to purchase material to make blankets for children in need. The entire club agreed upon doing so last year when the idea was first proposed.

“Towards the end of last year, [the club members] were brainstorming ideas for this year, and we had decided that we wanted to do something that was going to impact a lot of children,” Regan said. “We’re going to be making fleece blankets for children in hospitals so that they’ll have something nice, warm and cozy to look forward to as a gift.”

The idea of making the blankets stemmed from a Fashion Club member who had cancer as a child. They talked to Regan about how much having a blanket had helped them while they were in the hospital.

“Hearing [the student’s] story and hearing their personal connection when they received a blanket like this when they was a kid [revealed how] awesome it was and how much of a difference it made,” Regan said. “I think just knowing that personal connection helps everyone in the club to see the value and how we can really make a difference in some people’s lives.”

Colleen Watson is the co-leader of Fashion Club and says that she completely supports the service project that the club chose to do. She believes that what they are doing could help a lot of people as well as the members of the club.

“I think [the service project] is really cool,” Watson said. “A lot of [club members] only make things for ourselves, so putting work into something that’s going to benefit someone else is something that the fashion club wouldn’t normally do.”

The blankets, unlike the scrunchies, have yet to be made. It is unknown when the blankets will be finished by, but Regan hopes to finish them by winter break.

“The goal is [to have them done] before winter break,” Regan said. “When it’s cold, it’s nice to have something warm and cozy to cuddle up to and find that comfort in.”