Volunteer Project: Hats for Chemo Patients
Make snazzy hats for kids who need them.
Submitted by
Kayla Chong
Kayla Chong
Encourage your child to step away from the screen and spend an afternoon creating custom caps for chemotherapy patients.
- Milliner:Your kid.
- A soft cotton cap:Find blank caps at most mass merchant or craft stores or online at the Dharma Trading Company.
- Decorations:Rhinestones, patches, iron-ons, silk flowers, fabric paint, etc. Check your local craft store for supplies.
- Hot-glue gun and glue sticks:Remember, kids and hot glue don't mix, so make sure you do the gluing!
- Recipient:Someone to donate the hat to. See below for a list of organizations.
Help your child contact a local hospital or charity to donate her cap to. Head Huggers is an awesome organization that will collect your handmade hats and distribute them to those in need. The Ronald McDonald House, The American Cancer Society or a local cancer outpatient clinic are also great places to start.
Pick up a soft cap for your child to decorate. Make sure the hat is made out of a natural fiber, like cotton. Avoid wool as it can be dangerous for some cancer patients.
Hit your local craft store for decorations. Let your little milliner pick out what she wants to use to decorate her hat.
Bring everything home and set up a hat shop! Encourage your kid to decorate the hat. Older kids can hot-glue stuff on the hat. Have younger kids arrange how they want everything to be and then you can hot-glue the stuff on for them.
When she finishes her hat, help her make a label for it. Write down her name, age and what the hat is made out of. Attach the label with a piece of yarn and a safety pin.
Then wrap it up and deliver or mail it to one of the charities mentioned above.
- If your child is a Knit Wit and knows how to wield a pair of knitting needles, have her knit a "chemo cap" for a cancer patient. She can find cool patterns at Chemocaps.com. Make sure she avoids using wool yarn, as wool can be harmful to some cancer patients.
- If your child wants to get her friends involved, have her start a chemo cap drive. For information on how to start a drive, have her check out Hatsoffforcancer.org.
- Looking for another way that your kid can help kids in need? Have him organize an eyeglass collection drive or bake a birthday cake for an underprivileged child.
- Check out our ages and stages guide to volunteering opportunities.
Submit!
