DUBOIS, Pa. (WTAJ) — The DuBois Honor Guard (DAHG) is known for its commitment to remember and honor those who fought for our country, but did you know about their blanket creation program?

Sharon Wantuck founded the blanket program after attending a Veterans Day event held by the DAHG 13 years ago. She saw a veteran who didn’t have a blanket and his pants were so thin you could see his legs on during the cold November day. This was unacceptable to Wantuck.

After leaving the event, Wantuck deiced to start making blankets for vets so she never had to see that again.

With the help of her sister, Wantuck created and donated military branch-inspired blankets to area nursing homes to be passed out to veterans.

After three to four years of creating blankets, Wantuck said the project became rather expensive, so they approached the DAHG to see if they’d be able to take on some of the financing, which they did.

Since their involvement, the DAHG has tried to get a blanket to anyone in need, but blanket-making is no easy task.

“It’s the Honor Guard people and their wives and volunteers from the area coming in and we all work together,” Wantuck said. “We do an average of 32 blankets at a time in one day.”

This project allows the non-profit to pass out between 100 and 150 blankets each year, with about 13,000 donated over their 13 years of service.

Wantuck also knows it’s helpful to the veterans and that they appreciate her service. It also makes her happy to all these veterans with blankets.

“It’s a lot of fun and the veterans are very appreciative,” Wantuck said. “And I’ve never seen a veteran without a blanket that was sitting outside in the cold and that makes it all worthwhile.”

Donations can be sent to DuBois Area Honor Guard, P.O. Box 907, DuBois, PA 1580.