Siblings launch loom-knitting initiative to provide hats for newborn babies
While most kids are spending their summer vacation playing video games or hanging out with friends, two students from Talbot Trail Public School are hard at work knitting hats for newborn babies.
Zoha Awan, 10, first learned loom knitting from her fifth grade teacher. After passing off that skill to her six-year-old brother, the two started knitting and never stopped.
With the financial support of their parents, the brother-sister duo have embarked on a mission to expand Hats For Cuddles across Canada.
Nothing cuter than a baby in a hat
Though she was just four years old at the time, Awan clearly remembers how cute her brother looked when he was born.
"When my baby brother was born, he got a hat. He just looked so adorable," she said.
Six years later, Awan's fifth grade teacher at Talbot Trail Public School taught her how to loom knit — a skill Awan found herself resorting back to as a way of satisfying the boredom of summer vacation.
"I didn't know what to do [with my time]. I taught my mom how to loom knit ... Eventually, my brother Owais found out and then all three of us loom knitted," she said.
"And then it just struck us. Why don't we donate them to hospitals?"
After recently dropping off a number of hats to Windsor Regional Hospital, the family received an appreciation letter from Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens. Most recently, Hats For Cuddles made a donation to Leamington's Erie Shores Healthcare.
"We got to see a little baby wearing one of our hats. He just looked so adorable and we were so happy," Awan said.
Goal of five hats a day
Sameia Tariq, Awan's mother, is very happy that her kids are spending their helping the community rather than "spending their time on screens." She said seeing babies wearing their hats is a great feeling.
"We just set a goal that we will knit five hats a day. It's fun. It's [an] addiction. When you're not doing anything, you want to knit," Tariq said.
She also said the family's loom-knitting habit helps lift a financial weight off her shoulders.
"I think it's a very good thing that they choose to help their community instead of us asking for many expensive toys."
The future of Hats For Cuddles
10-year-old Awan feels happy to know she has "touched hearts" of people she doesn't even know. She said it's a feeling that has started to expand beyond her home — garnering attention from some of her friends.
"Right now, they're looming hats and dropping them off to our house. Whenever we go to a hospital, we will invite them and go as a group."
Awan said she envisions national expansion for her organization, with the hope that all newborn babies will be wearing one of her hats.
"We're going to deliver to Chatham in a few days. We want to expand to Toronto, Quebec and then eventually all of Canada," she said, before remembering that a lot of the credit goes to her parents.
"My dad who supports and encourages us and my mom who buys the yarn and financially supports us."
Awan added she wants to have 70 hats ready for the Chatham visit.
