Ag/Sci senior Madelyn or “Maddie” Fry presented her moving Senior Project “One Bundle At a Time” on Tuesday Jan. 14, in front of a full house of students and nine judges.  

The purpose of her project was to give foster children hope, so she created 101 blankets to provide them with warmth.  

“The genuine idea for it came, like, maybe, sophomore year,” Fry explained.

She had also figured out the focus of her project a few years in advance. Fry was inspired by her older brother Caden Fry, who made birthday boxes for foster kids. 

For the mandatory job-shadowing portion of her Ag/Sci project, she worked under an attorney, Amanda Jones.  Jones, who previously worked as a CPS case worker, informed her that because of privacy reasons, she could not speak with foster kids, even the children she would help. 

“That was a really hard part for me, because I was like, how do I even know that this is worth it if I can’t even see their faces?”  Fry said.  

“Sure, maybe those blankets sit in a basement somewhere and get nothing,” Fry stated. “But odds are that they’re going to change at least one life, and that’s good enough for me.” 

During her presentation, she acknowledged that one of her weaknesses was time management.

“Every time that I wanted to do something and I wanted to set this designated time up to work on my project I had to worry about my other workload from school,” Fry explained.  

Because of her work as a lifeguard, athlete, and a camp counselor, she felt she had little time to work on her senior project during the summer as well.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of room for just being able to kind of take time for myself,” she revealed.

However, during her presentation she took accountability and admitted that she could have started making blankets early in the summer. 

So, in order to create as many blankets as possible, just two weeks before her senior year, her mother helped by creating a Facebook post for donations. Within 24 hours, Fry was able to collect $150 for blanket fabric from Joann’s. She began stitching blankets straight away. 

Fry continued making blankets after homecoming, even making 33 during fall break, which required about 50 hours of labor. She thanked the people who supported her throughout her project, including her Church which helped Fry create blankets during the Women’s Summit. Her grandmother was also able to get extra fabric from a Girl’s Scout Supervisor with extra fabrics. 

Fry was emotional throughout her presentation.

“I don’t know why I’m crying,” she admitted.

The experiences of Foster kids was especially touching for her.  While writing her research paper about foster kids she found that 92.3% of foster kids in California in 2021 were neglected. 

Fry was able to connect with a member of EA Family Services in Tracy downtown, Jerry Doris, to distribute the blankets to the children. 

Jorge Perez, a senior at Tracy High School, claims that Fry’s presentation made him realize what he took for granted.

“It’s something I don’t even think about most days,” Perez said. “I don’t even relate to that experience [of being in the foster care system] but watching it hit me harder than I thought it would.” 

Four-year Ag/Sci coordinator Stacey Browne judged Fry’s presentation.

“I thought it was great, I was really proud of her for doing something that was really important to her,” Browne expressed.  “As soon as she was crying… Because It was so important to her- it just made me feel as emotional as she was.” 

“I think that projects are successful if there’s something meaningful to them,” Browne added.

A few projects that struck Browne aimed to stop sex trafficking, installed Tracy High School’s hydration system, and made a prosthetic leg for a disabled dog.