“To whom much is given, much is required,” is a mantra Nicholas Kristock, SBA ’13 and ’14, lives by, covering his philanthropic endeavors in gratitude and altruism.

The two-time alumnus is the founder and owner of Fleece and Thank You, a nonprofit organization that brings colorful fleece blankets and video messages of support to hospitalized children, offering comfort in an otherwise often bleak environment. The organization has grown over the past eight years, servicing every children’s hospital in the state of Michigan and employing three full-time, 10 part-time staff and hundreds of volunteers. Additionally, Fleece and Thank You participates in a workforce development program for young adults and adults with various cognitive and physical impairments to aid with production.

Fleece and Thank You’s Farmington Hills facility contains rows upon rows of brightly colored fleece patterns, which are packaged into blanket kits that are sent all over the country to groups requesting them. These groups then tie the fleece into blankets, create their video message for the patient, and ship the kits back to the team at Fleece and Thank You, who do quality-control on each blanket, washing and drying them to hospital grade, before sealing and shipping them to different hospitals. Patients receiving the blankets can then respond to the blanket-maker with a video of gratitude.

“We touch about 150,000 people a year across the country,” Kristock explains about the organization’s operations. “Pretty much any day of the year there is a group somewhere in the U.S. that is making blankets with Fleece and Thank You in some capacity.”

Kristock’s philanthropic drive didn’t just start with Fleece and Thank You; it was woven into his life from a young age and flourished with the people and connections he made at OU.

As a soccer player at Oakland, Kristock and his teammates started a nonprofit during his junior year to help fund transportation for kids to attend mission trips. “That was when I got my first taste of nonprofit and fundraising,” he says. “After graduation, I moved to Australia for a couple of years to play soccer and started volunteering with nonprofits there, mostly working with kids in the hospital. So, when I moved back to Michigan, I knew working with nonprofits was something I wanted to pursue.”

As the son of a nurse and the twin of a pediatric oncology nurse, a part of Kristock was always drawn to helping others. Upon returning to Michigan from Australia, his sister asked him to make a fleece blanket for one of her patients. After consulting with other hospitals, Kristock found a need for this service and a week later, Fleece and Thank You was born.

Turning to his OU connections, Kristock held one of the organization’s earliest blanket events in North Foundation Hall with the help of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority. The event not only helped launch Fleece and Thank You, but also led to him eventually tying a knot of a different kind: it's where he met his wife, Sara (Costa), SEHS ’17.

“I love OU, and I’m so grateful for the time I had there,” says Kristock. “The resources and support they provided me got me to where I am today.”

“Every day I am grateful for the position I'm in and the resources I have at my disposal,” Kristock adds about his drive to help others. “I feel a big responsibility to continue showing gratitude and serving others.”