Donate Knitted Hats to Cancer Patients with Hats4Healing
Knitted items are crafted with such love, care, and attention that bring joy, warmth, and coziness to anyone who wears them. While knitting clothes for ourselves, friends, and family can be fulfilling and rewarding, let’s also consider the impact our hand knitted items could have on young cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. In this blog post, let’s chat about the non-profit organization Hats4Healing, the significance it has on pediatric cancer patients, and what you can do to help.
About Hats4Healing
Hats4Healing is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing handmade knitted hats for pediatric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. It is based out of Greenwich, Connecticut, and currently donates to Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) in Connecticut. This heart-filled non-profit was started by Sofia Iuteri, a 17-year-old senior at Greenwich High School. She founded Hats4Healing when she was just 15, and still serves as the president.
Sofia’s goal for Hats4Healing is to provide cancer patients with unity, comfort, and warmth through the distribution of knitted hats. Cancer patients often suffer from being cold due to interferences with their body temperature regulation and hair loss due to various treatments. Hats4Healing not only provides cancer patients with warmth, but the acknowledgment that a group of people are helping in their recovery.
Hats that were donated to Yale New Haven Hospital from Hats4Healing
What Inspired Hats4Healing
Sofia was inspired to create Hats4Healing by her grandmother. Sadly, her grandmother struggled with liver cancer and passed away as a result when Sofia was just 7 years old. Even though Sofia was so young at the time, she understood that her grandmother was lonely, in pain, and cold for a majority of the time after her diagnosis. While Sofia gave her grandmother as much love and company as she could during this time, she wanted to do more. This inability to help her grandmother inspired her to create hats for as many cancer patients as possible.
The Impact of Donating Knitted Hats
Now, Hats4Healing has become something larger than Sofia’s original inspiration. It not only impacts cancer patients directly, but also parents, family members, and others affected by cancer in indirect ways. Hats4Healing also benefits the knitting community as it provides a mission for creators to knit for. Creators of all ages participate in the effort, including peers at Sofia’s high school, young people, and church groups across the nation, and even senior centers are involved nationally.
So far, Sofia has made one donation of approximately 60 hats, all of which she made. The effort has since grown beyond Sofia as the local and national community is now involved. Altogether, Hats4Healing is now a community of around 50 volunteers, and counting!
Sofia making the first donation of 60 hats to Yale New Haven Hospital
Sofia has received thanks from numerous pediatric cancer patients for the work she is doing with Hats4Healing. Volunteers are also very appreciative and grateful for the opportunity. Many volunteers have a personal connection to cancer with a parent who is struggling. This makes participating in the effort all the more special to them and to Sofia.
“I never would have expected so much appreciation for the work I am doing and it is so fulfilling to see the impact Hats4Healing is making on all sides of the issue. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.”
What You Can Do To Help
If you’re a knitter or crocheter, join the effort! Sofia accepts hats or any other knitted or crocheted items such as blankets, headbands, socks, etc. If you think it could bring someone joy or comfort, then you can donate it.
If you are unable to donate handcrafted items, you can still help! You may donate yarn to the address below or simply donate directly on the Hats4Healing website!
The next big donation for Hats4Healing will be in mid-October 2022, and the due date for items to be included in that donation is October 12th, 2022. If you’d like to donate one or more items for that deadline, then fill out this form.
All donations are to be sent to:
Hats4Healing
14 Ronald Lane
Cos Cob, CT 06807
After October’s donation, she will begin preparing for the next one. So if you can’t make the October deadline, no sweat! Sofia collects hats all year round.
Want to reach out or have a question for Sofia? You can email her at sofiaiuteri@icloud.com. Also, be sure to follow her on Instagram at @Hats4Healing!
As someone who helped my own grandmother struggle through terminal lung cancer, I can deeply relate to Sofia’s mission with Hats4Healing. I’m more than happy to donate a me-made hat for the cause, and I hope it brings someone warmth and comfort. Whether you are able to make something before the deadline or you can send a few knitted items you have laying around not being used, I highly encourage you to take part in this sweet effort. And if you have any other recommendations on how knitters can give back, give some suggestions in the comments!
This is the Best Beanie by James Watts that I made and will be donating to Hats4Healing.