Saturday, December 25, 2010

Caps for Good: Knit or crochet a baby’s hat by February 28, 2011

Just in time for Christmas, I read the article by Cokie and Steve Roberts about Caps for Good, the program run by Save the Children to collect infant caps knitted and crocheted by volunteers around the country. The caps will be sent around the world to help keep newborns warm during their earliest weeks of life, when they’re most vulnerable to illness. Imagine: Something as simple as keeping a baby’s head warm can help raise the rate of infant survival among the poorest populations of the planet.

After reading the article in the Casa Grande Dispatch, I went to the Save the Children website and downloaded the instructional booklet for Caps for Good. It’s a good thing I did, because it turns out the current campaign to collect infant caps will end on February 28, 2011, just a couple of months from now. That means if you want to knit or crochet a cap to donate to this worthy cause, you’d better hurry.

If you want to help by making a cap that will warm the head of a vulnerable little tyke, the instructions for making both knitted and crocheted caps are on page 3 of the booklet (technically, page 4 of the PDF document). I intend to dig out some of my old yarn and knitting needles or crochet hooks and see if I can produce a cap or two. It’s been some years since I wielded those implements, but I used to turn out beautiful sweaters every couple of months, and many smaller items, from gloves to caps. Making a simple baby’s cap should be no problem at all.

And lest you fellows think such a project is too sissified for manly men, you should know that men and boys around the country are making a point to learn how to make the caps so they can be real heroes and save the lives of thousands of precious children. So, don’t let anything stand in your way. Make a cap, then use the forms in the PDF booklet to add a personal message to the infant’s mother, then send the cap with the form to the President or your Congressional Representative to let them know what you’re doing and urge them to make enough money available to provide care for children in the poorest countries.

Then you can do one more thing: Tell someone else about the Caps for Good project. Be sure to do that right away, so they can produce a cap before the deadline when this campaign ends. Remember, February 28, 2011. Mark your calendar.

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