#036: Find Your North Star and Go For It- Grace Hsia

Fleece & Thank You is the official fiscal sponsor of Warmilu, an infant warming company. Lack of warmth is a huge problem experienced by many populations across the globe. Over 1 million premature infants die annually due to hypothermia-related causes in resource scarce settings. Most of these fatalities are due to a lack of basic access to electric incubators and other life-saving sources of warmth. Warmilu created a patented infant warming blanket (featured left) and is currently warming 10,000 infants born to hospitals in 75 countries around the world, and this partnership will help to increase that reach. You might not know this, but Nicholas and Grace are two founders whose early lives were saved by incubators. Nick was born a twin, and his twin sister was taking up much of the nutrients in the womb. He was born with fully developed organs, but he could not warm himself up. The care team was quick-thinking and put Nicholas into an incubator, which saved his life.In a different Michigan hospital, Grace was born 1-month preterm the day after Christmas. Smaller than a teddy bear, Grace was warmed by an incubator for 11 days to stabilize her and grow her underdeveloped lungs. For days, both founders were separated from their parents. Being isolated made an impression. Grace’s parents told her stories about incubator life and only being able to touch her toe. This early challenge instilled a lifelong desire in Nicholas and Grace to make a positive impact and bring people closer together.Today, both Nicholas and Grace are still blown away that their paths intersected in pediatric healthcare, specifically warming children with blankets! The world is a better place when FTY blankets provide comfort to kids and Warmilu blankets provide life-saving warmth to keep infants warm near their parents. Together, blankets from Warmilu and FTY become physical embodiments of love when kids are in their greatest time of need.Our “Wrapped in Warmth” partnership with Fleece and Thank You allows YOU to create comfort and hope for someone going through a difficult time. Every soft, colorful fleece blanket symbolizes the love and support of friends, family, and community. The Warmilu + Fleece & Thank You Blanket Kit is a great way to provide hands-on support to children needing comfort locally and abroad. For every Warmilu + FTY Blanket kit sold, one infant warming blanket will be donated to a hospital abroad, saving THOUSANDS of infant lives.Learn more about the partnership here!