Lay down two pieces of fleece fabric, cut off the corners, make slits all around and tie the fabric together by the slits — that's how members of Layers of Love show support to children in need.
Layers of Love is an organization in which USC students come together as a community and use their creativity to provide hospitalized children with blankets. During their meetings, members spend their time making the blankets using these techniques.
According to the leaders of Layers of Love, blanket-making is such a meaningful and impactful activity because of both its simplicity and the comfort it brings children .
“Two years ago, we came up with the idea that we wanted to kind of create an organization that’s simple and easy for all students to do that will also make a real impact," Co-President Camryn King, a fourth-year public health student, said.
Vice President Chryssi Hartofilis, a fourth-year exercise science student, said when founding the club in Fall 2024, she and the other two founders' first idea was to write letters to children in the hospital. However, she said they felt blankets would be more comforting, as kids could always have it on them. The blankets also come in different patterns and designs, which kids enjoy, Hartofilis said.
Tanner High, a fourth-year cardiovascular technology student and member of the club, said these meetings are a welcoming space, where people chat and listen to music while making blankets.
While the club teaches members new skills such as making blankets, it also organizes donation drives, ensuring the blankets are utilized by people who need them.
Layers of Love partners with Project Linus, a national non-profit organization that has chapters in each state. Project Linus provides handmade blankets to children ages 0-18 who are in need of support. Their mission is to provide children with a sense of love and comfort.
In the future, the club's leaders hope to expand their impact to be able to help even more children in hospitals.
“We’ve only made probably around 100-150 blankets right now, which, it's a good amount, but we obviously want to grow further with that and also maybe partner with other organizations beyond Project Linus," King said. "That would be really cool."
Layers of Love partnered with Zeta Tau Alpha in April 2025, hosting a blanket-making event at the chapter's house. Hartofilis said she wants to further extend the club's involvement to other sororities and organizations on campus.
The club has been successful at expanding its mission, as more students seem to be interested in getting involved, according to fourth-year exercise science student and Co-President Hannah Ruffner. For a while, Project Linus seemed to be losing popularity, but Layers of Love seems to have re-sparked focus on the issue, Ruffner said.
The presidents and vice president have focused on building a solid foundation to ensure a successful future for the organization. They hope for Layers of Love to continue to grow even as they graduate this year, King said.
“We actually had someone ask us if we could make a position for them on the board so that when we do graduate, that she can take over and kind of keep it going. We were super happy about that,” Ruffner said.
Layers of Love is open to all students, with no previous blanket-making experience necessary in order to participate. The club meets twice a month at the Darla Moore School of Business. These meetings are held on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. More information can be found on the club's GarnetGate.