Monthly Archives: July 2011

Thanks to two sisters, Donna in NY and Cathy in Canada, Hats For A Purpose is now international in its purpose to give winter hats to kids at risk.  These two knitting wonders created 29 hats, matching scarves and mittens when Donna visited across the border a few weeks ago.  The hats are of every color, pattern and style that you can imagine.  The children will love them!

I’m meeting so many wonderful people through this project – that’s a benefit I hadn’t imagined.  I’d like you all to meet each other too so in the next few weeks look for a series of articles called YARNS: Stories about the Hats For A Purpose Contributors – how and when they learned to knit, who taught them, what it’s meant to them – it’s amazing how knitting and other similar handwork bridges generations and cultures. Look for these stories soon.

I’m grateful to everyone out there making a hat for a child at risk.  You make a difference in the world.

One of Donna and Cathy’s designs.

I wish the picture did justice to the beautiful hand work on these lovely hats for newborns made by Sally , whose husband is a Scotia Rotarian.  When you hold one of the hats you can feel the softness and see the attention to detail and even picture the baby lucky enough to wear it.  Sally’s friends and family are recipients of her skill and talent and now, through Hats For A Purpose, we will share this talent with babies in need.  Thank you Sally.

Although we have been polio-free in this country for many years, it is amazing how far-reaching the arms of this disease really is.  Read on to find the connection between a favorite children’s game and polio.

From the annals of CANDY LAND:

“Once upon a time……in San Diego, California, a woman named Eleanor Abbott created a game.  Ms Abbott, a recovering Polio patient, decided to create an activity that would entertain children affected with the disease.  So she submitted her board game to MILTON BRADLEY, who enthusiastically accepted it for production.  And before she knew it, in 1949, a new game called CANDY LAND was introduced.

The first Candy Land games were sold for only a dollar.  The advertisements assured parents that the game fulfilled “the sweet tooth yearning of the younger set without the tummy ache aftereffects.”

As its packaging proudly stated for 30 years, CANDY LAND is “a sweet little game….for sweet little folks.”  Soon the simple activity would become an enduring part of the collective American childhood.  The theme and simplicity of play made it a perfect fit for the whole family.

At the time, few could have predicted the impact of the game, both on the Massachusetts-based game manufacturer and on generations of young children.  To date, its distinctive red-and-white peppermint name has been printed on over 40 million games.

In a world filled with advanced technology and fading fads, the sweet simplicity of this classic game keeps it continually popular, generation after generation.”

Thanks CANDY LAND for permission to use this story.

There I was at a Rotary Institute in Minneapolis and the exhibition hall was big and chilly.  So when I saw a display of warm winter coats I hurried right over.  That was my first introduction to Operation Warm, a company formed about 10 years ago to provide new winter coats for children in need.

The story is a familiar one – the one where someone recognizes a need and does something about it.  Dick Sanford, the founder, realized there were kids in his town with no winter coats although he lived in a pretty upscale area.  Astounded by this so he went out and purchased as many winter coats as he could find.  Then he took them to his local Rotary Club for distribution around the area.  And Operation Warm was born.  Now Operation Warm, a 501(c)3, provides new winter coats to a wide range of non-profit organizations in over 33 states.  This year they expect to reach the 1 Million Coat mark.

There are several things that make Operation Warm unique: they believe in sustainability so all coats are made from recycled water and soda containers; they believe in education so, working with Villanova University, created a curriculum  available to schools to help children learn about water sustainability; they established community service projects at colleges and universities called Warm Coats…Open Minds to teach philanthropy and collect water and soda bottles on college campuses; they believe in helping kids learn about service by a “Pay It Forward” project where coat recipients are asked to do a good deed for someone else.  Operation Warm is well-rounded in social endeavor.

Take a look at this short video and then ask yourself, “How Can I Help?”  I’ll bet you can find a way.