Nicholas Kristock has been named the 2020 recipient of the Community Service Award. Kristock, a member of the Oakland men's soccer team from 2009-13, is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Fleece & Thank You.
 
Kristockhad the motivation to start Fleece & Thank You in 2015 after living in Australia and working with multiple children's charities and hospitals, including the Make A Wish Foundation and Camp Quality. 
 
Through his experiences in pediatric healthcare, Kristock learned children in the hospital face two major social issues. First, they often go their whole treatment with just the plain white hospital sheets on their bed. Second, many kids lose connection with the outside world during their treatment stay.
 
Kristock's passion is building an organization that provides armor for sick kids in the hospital in the form of a colorful, fleece blanket, as well as connection and purpose with an inspiring video message from the blanket maker. He wanted to start an organization that gave warriors in the hospital hope and connection to someone who cared about their battle and an additional feeling of purpose to continue fighting.
 
Fleece & Thank You delivers nearly 32,000 blankets every year throughout the state of Michigan.
 
As a men's soccer student-athlete, Kristock was always a leader, named a three-time team captain during his tenure. 
 
The Novi, Mich. native earned a number of awards during his time at Oakland including being named the 2013 men's soccer Senior CLASS Award recipient, named Student Leader of the Year by the Center for Student Activities and earned Oakland University's Human Relations Award, given to a graduating senior that exemplifies superior academic and co-curricular achievement.
 
After graduation, Kristock has continued to give back to the community, founding multiple non-profit businesses in Empathy 313 & Crate of Good.
 
Kristock appeared on the Lay's Potato Chips Operation Smile Campaign, being just one of 30 people selected across the United States.
 
In 2016 Kristock received the OUAA Alumni Community Service Award and he was named as a Oakland County Executive's Elite 40 Under 40 honoree in 2019.
 
What does this Award mean to you?
One of the greatest elements of life is to know you have purpose, and I believe it is our purpose to show uncommon kindness toward the people around us. I am a recipient of uncommon kindness from many amazing people in my life, and I am forever grateful for these people. I have a duty to show the same uncommon kindness to everyone I meet. My time at Oakland University brought me friends and moments that taught me to be uncommonly kind, and I spend my efforts serving others because that, for me, is the whole point of this whole life thing we are out here doing every day. Be uncommonly kind, and watch the world in front of you change because of it.
 
This year's induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Jan. 24 at the Auburn Hills Marriott Pontiac. The event is open to the public, and those interested in attending can register here.