HATS 4 HOPE

Hats 4 Hope was started in 2008 by Suzy Luff, who was just 14 years old at the time.  She is now a senior at the University of Denver majoring in math and the organization is still going strong and growing way beyond her initial dreams with 10 chapters in the US and 1 in Germany.  Suzy has been featured on local and national television and has donated over 17,000 hats with 14,500 of those going to babies in Colorado Springs.
Suzy’s idea to provide hats to premature newborns started with a small hat loom she received as a gift.  She was inspired by baby pictures of her older brother in a baby hat that looked small and thin and she wanted to make something better.  Her first hat was too small for a newborn but just right for a preemie. So, she contacted the local neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to see if it could use her hats to help premature infants retain their body heat. The NICU was very happy to accept the donation, but never expected the hats to keep coming. But they did.  Soon after she started donating hats, Suzy created the nonprofit organization, Hats 4 Hope, training volunteers by holding knitting parties. Her efforts, along with those of the hundreds of volunteers who make up Hats 4 Hope, have touched the lives of so many families of premature infants – not only by warming tiny heads, but also by lifting spirits at a difficult time.
Suzy was featured in the Colorado Springs Gazette in 2013 and on NBC news in 2014.  The national exposure through the NBC news feature helped kick start new chapters around the country.  Suzy assists the chapters in getting started and they are allowed to use the Hats 4 Hope name.  Each chapter reaches out to the local NICUs in their communities to find ones that are in need of hats.  Suzy also spreads the word around the country during
family vacations where she contacts the NCIU units near her vacation destination and offers to donate hats.
Suzy sees herself continuing to be the administrator of Hats 4 Hope through her college career and beyond.  She plans to continue her education next year with a master’s program in curriculum and instruction with a goal of becoming a secondary education math teacher.
While there are many organizations that do charity knitting, this one was started by a very special local lady and has had a positive impact on babies in Colorado NICU units and their parents.
If you would like to donate hats, I’ve included a link to a simple pattern below.  Or if you have some leftover yarn from a project, Hats 4 Hope can use that too.  It only takes a small amount of yarn for these tiny hats.  Baby skin is delicate so soft acrylics or cotton are best plus they are easily washable.
Pattern: http://majorknitter.typepad.com/major_knitter/files/ basic_newborn_baby_hat.pdf
You can send hats or yarn to: Suzy Luff Hats 4 Hope 3222 Austin Place Colorado Springs, CO 80909
Website: http://www.hats-4-hope.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hats4Hope