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Women work on building fleece blankets during Brigham Young University Women's Conference Friday, May 2, 2025, in Provo.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Becky and Anika Snow, of Alpine, pose with worry buddies at Brigham Young University Women's Conference Friday, May 2, 2025, in Provo.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Women assemble worry buddies during Brigham Young University Women's Conference Friday, May 2, 2025, in Provo.

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A woman works a fleece blankets during Brigham Young University Women's Conference Friday, May 2, 2025, in Provo.

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Attendees of the largest three-day gathering of Latter-Day Saints women at Brigham Young University Women’s Conference harnessed their efforts to work on six service projects that took place across campus last Thursday and Friday.

Pillow kits, fleece blankets, mastectomy pillows, teddy bears, worry buddies and bookmarks were put together by women as they listened to the conference’s talks telecasted around campus.

Inside the Wilkinson Center Friday, on a balcony overlooking the main ballroom where conference speakers spoke, women worked hard to finalize fleece blankets that will be sent out to four different charities.

“All these women that are here are cutting the edges of the quilts and then sewing on hearts, and they’ll all be given to children so it’s pretty awesome,” project director and Orem resident Emily McGuire said. “And then the women are able to do this while they listen to talks so you’re feeling inspired and you’re also doing service at the same time.”

McGuire estimated a thousand hours of groundwork was laid by individuals before the conference to cut and sew the blankets together. At the project, women made the final cuts and sewing touches, taking roughly 30 minutes per blanket.

The goal was to finish 1,000 blankets, with 400 going to Early Learning Essentials, 200 to the Odyssey House and 400 to the Granite Education Foundation.

“They’re really cute materials of animals and unicorns, just nice blankets,” McGuire said. “I’ve seen women crying and taking notes. It’s great to feel the spirit as you’re helping and serving.”

Down in the Wilkinson Center garden court, women built worry buddies — circular stuffed animals created using poly pellets, safety eyes and soft fabric.

Project director Becky Snow, of Alpine, works in the behavioral health unit at Lehi’s Primary Children’s hospital and said the worry buddies will be sent to children in crisis situations, and have a calming effect.

“They have to have these adorable little eyes to make the connection with the child,” Snow said. “I saw it in my own home. I have a daughter that’s seven, and the second I sewed one up for her she was just like ‘It’s mine, it’s my baby.’ … There’s actually a developmental process that when we’re little, the eyes of a mother or a parent help create a loving connection.”

The service proved a popular one. Scheduled to take all of Thursday and Friday to complete, the project was nearly finished by late Friday morning. The worry buddies will be sent out to Hearts Knit Together, Odyssey Home, Early Learning Essentials and Valley Behavioral.

“I’m sure they’re going to be so thrilled to get these little friends,” Snow said. “We made a thousand. When they’re made, they’re made inside out. The women sit down, put the eyes in, and then turn them right-side out, and there’s life. They’re so cute, and the women have just been sitting here, creating little families, little friends. They have a connection with this service project, which is so fun. We’ve never done it before so we had to start from scratch, from the bottom up, and it’s been a huge success.”

Beyond the service project, Snow considers the conference itself a powerful opportunity for women to “come together and lean on each other.”

“It’s not just about the speakers,” she said. “It’s about walking with a friend to that class, it’s about sitting at a table or eating lunch, or just talking about our lives and how similar we are and yet how we come from all walks of life.”