Owens Corning Partners with Fleece & Thank You

In a global partnership with Fleece & Thank You (F&TY) – the Midwest’s largest provider of comfort care to hospitalized children – 100 employees from the Owens Corning headquarters in Toledo and another 200 from across the globe came together to make blankets for their local communities. This is the third year for the day of service, which helps global team members feel more connected to each other and to those in need locally.

“A huge thank you to all the participants for taking the time out of their busy schedules to give back to the community,” said Ann Malak, community affairs lead for Owens Corning. “Our purpose statement is ‘our people and products make the world a better place,’ and we are fortunate to have so many community minded employees working for Owens Corning who truly live out that purpose.”

In Toledo, the blankets will be donated to ProMedica Toledo Children’s Hospital to bring comfort and connection to children facing extended hospital stays. The company expects to make a total of 480 blankets in 10 countries by the donation date of Sept. 11, 2020. This marks the first time since the Global Finance Operations and Reporting Group began its global day of service three years ago that all of the countries will be participating in the same event. This year, a few other Owens Corning groups from the company’s treasury, tax, investor relations and global shared services departments joined in the effort as well.

“We’re grateful to Owens Corning for choosing Fleece & Thank You as its global partner to serve communities across the world this year,” said Nicholas Kristock, co-founder and executive director of F&TY. “The need for comfort in these times is universal, so it’s wonderful to see how our mission can be expanded to those outside of hospitals – from orphanages and senior homes to shelters and boarding schools.”

F&TY was established to create a meaningful and lasting connection that lets children and young adults in the hospital know they are not alone. Through the company’s blanket-making program, it’s on a mission to collect 30,000 blankets annually – which is the number of children hospitalized each year in Michigan. Even more than color and comfort, Kristock believes that every child deserves connection. Every blanket provided also has a personal video message attached to it from the blanket maker to the recipient in the hospital, who can then send a “thank-you” message back to the maker.

“For many of our patients and their families, this is a room they do not want to be in and a diagnosis they do not understand,” said Kristock. “It’s not their bed, not their sheets, not their pillow and not their ‘normal.’ We can give these kids and their families one of the first reasons to smile during an uncertain time and one of the first reasons to have hope when they see something bright and colorful waiting for them on the bed.”

Although the F&TY mission is to donate to hospitals for children and young adults facing extended stays, due to local laws and COVID-19 regulations, the blankets made by Owens Corning associates will be donated to hospitals, orphanages, senior centers, shelters and schools in the following countries:

• Rio Claro, Brazil
• Brussels, Belgium
• Chambéry, France
• Mumbai, India
• Besana, Italy
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Gous, Russia
• Shanghai, China
• Toledo, Ohio
• Vilnius, Lithuania

Blanket kits for anyone interested in making a blanket are available for purchase online at fleeceandthankyou.org/product/blanket-kit.

About Fleece & Thank You

Established in 2015, Fleece & Thank You is a nonprofit organization that makes fleece blankets with encouraging video messages for children who have been hospitalized. For more information, visit FleeceAndThankYou.org.

About Owens Corning

Owens Corning is a global building and industrial materials leader. The company’s three integrated businesses are dedicated to the manufacture and advancement of a broad range of insulation, roofing and fiberglass composite materials. Leveraging the talents of 19,000 employees in 33 countries, Owens Corning provides innovative products and sustainable solutions that address energy efficiency, product safety, renewable energy, durable infrastructure, and labor productivity. These solutions provide a material difference to the company’s customers and make the world a better place. Based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, the company posted 2019 sales of $7.2 billion. Founded in 1938, it has been a Fortune 500® company for 66 consecutive years. For more information, please visit www.owenscorning.com.