I am SO proud today to be bringing you a blog post about a very special group of people working together through Knitting Rays of Hope out of Walnut, California. The group's architects are Pali and Vanessa. Here is what they say about themselves: "With this blog, we strive to raise awareness about Cancer, babies in the NICU and and a few other causes that are dear to our hearts. We have always struggled with finding a way to help others, and this was the obvious answer for us, having been so affected by this horrible disease, Cancer We hope that the hats we create impact the recipients and their families to show people really do care. We started this effort and blog in the Spring of 2012 and have grown immensely with our awareness, skills and spiritually. It feels great to do our little part in providing hope to those that are struggling with some pretty heavy issues. We actively pursue new recruits and can teach just about anyone how to loom knit a cute hat. By no means do we think of ourselves as “crafty” or “artistic”, at all, but this form of knitting allows for anyone to hand create a beautiful hat. Please feel free to comment on our posts or contact us." ~Pali & Vanessa Naturally before doing a piece about any group for this blog, I do my research. I found that Knitting Rays of Hope is a very, VERY busy group! They do so much for others so I contacted the Knitting Rays of Hope Facebook page to request permission to write about the group and of course use photos from their page. Pali responded very quickly to my requests with a resounding yes! What a gracious way to be greeted! The emphasis of Knitting Rays of Hope is hats! Lots of beautiful hats. The hats they collect go to, Cancer Warriors, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, and special request hat drives. Both Pali and Vanessa have experience with cancer striking at their families. That is the inspiration for Knitting Rays of Hope. Sadly it seems no one is immune from being touched by cancer. It is equal opportunity. The amazing thing about Knitting Rays of Hope is the sheer volume of beautifully made hats they collect and distribute with LOVE and genuine concern for the recipients. They also genuinely care for those who create the hats. The GRAND total hats delivered so far 3,388! These hats do honestly and genuinely provide hope. As I have said many times hats are VITAL to newborn babies and especially vital to babies in Neonatal Intensive care. Its so important to help them regulate their body heat. The same goes for those who are going through chemotherapy. Hats provide the necessary covering for those who are losing their hair. A beautifully made hat is often just the thing needed to lift the spirit as well as enjoying the warmth they provide. Lets face it, a cool hat brightens anyone's day :) Hats made by the Haberdashers of Knitting Rays of Hope have gone as far away as Guatemala! They were able to provide a NICU nurse from a hospital in Ontario California with 100 hats to go to midwives in Guatemala. How awesome is that! They also provided 107 NICU hats to Kaiser Hospital NICU in Ontario California in memory of Pali's sister-in-law and angel niece. Pali, said a very early and tragic goodbye to her sister-in-law and also to her niece who was born an angel at 32 weeks. Courage and love in action. That's what struck me most is that even in the midst of tragedy, needles, crochet hooks, and looms still worked to bring a sense of victory even in this sadness. Knitting Rays of Hope has grown tremendously since its beginnings in 2012. They have a blog: https://knittingraysofhope.wordpress.com/. A facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KnittingRaysOfHope/ A Twitter page: https://twitter.com/KnittngRaysHope/ A Pinterest Page: https://www.pinterest.com/knittngrayshope/ Tutorials: https://knittingraysofhope.wordpress.com/tutorials/ And instructions on how to get involved with Knitting Rays of Hope: https://knittingraysofhope.wordpress.com/get-involved/ Its a fantastic group and they always need more volunteers, funds, and supplies. Any questions are answered as promptly as possible. (All the volunteers also have other responsibilities) I'm hoping some of my readers will choose to be involved alongside Pali and Vanessa! Here are just a few pictures I pulled from their site with permission:
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