About

“If you can be anything, be grateful.”

Grateful Human was born from a grassroots nonprofit in Michigan called Fleece & Thank You that serves children in the hospital with colorful fleece blankets and video messages of support. 

One of the core values of Fleece & Thank You is gratitude, and this was the original inspiration behind the apparel we started to make. After selling out our stock in multiple retail locations, we decided to turn the Grateful Human concept into a standalone brand to continue to spread the message of gratitude. 

Fleece & Thank You serves tens of thousands of kids every year with comfort for their hospital stay and a personalized video message of support, and they do it all through the helpful hands and contributions from over 80,000 grateful humans that give time to the mission every year. 

In 2013, Fleece & Thank You Founder Nicholas Kristock moved 10,000 miles away to Australia to pursue a career in soccer. While living there, he began to use his free time to volunteer for charities supporting kids in the hospital. 

As he was traveling home to Michigan in late 2015, he landed in the US and received a text message from his twin sister, a pediatric oncology nurse at a major children’s hospital. She said, “When you have some free time, you should make a blanket for a kid in the hospital. We ALWAYS need blankets. They dramatically change the hospital environment. We NEVER have enough.” 

This is where the idea for Fleece & Thank You began, and fast forward to today, Fleece & Thank You serves tens of thousands of kids every year with comfort for their hospital stay and a personalized video message of support, and they do it all through the helpful hands and contributions from over 80,000 grateful humans that give time to the mission every year. The inspiring work of that many volunteers that Fleece & Thank You works with every year were the inspiration behind the Grateful Human brand. 

The Fleece & Thank You team, along with all of the amazing grateful humans who support them, believe they can change the story for kids going through scary hospital treatments. 

Through their blanket-making program, they are on a mission to make sure that every child gets guaranteed color, comfort, and connection in the form of a fleece blanket and video message when they begin their hospital stay.

Learn more about Fleece & Thank You here.