1,000 Hats Needs a Lot of Wool
Published Monday, August 24, 2020
Since 2012, Barb Storey has knitted her way to an incredicle donation of 1,000 newborn hats to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
By Heather Vita
Barb Storey never started out thinking she would knit 1,000 hats for newborns at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, but knit them she did!
“It started with my sister, who was living in Toronto, and knitting hats for a Hospital there,” Barb said. “Whenever I’d go to visit her, she’d put me to work knitting. After that, I just decided I could do it here too, and the rest is history.”
Starting in 2012, Barb would typically knit over 100 hats in a year. Some years she did more, some less. It would generally take her about one-and-a-half to two days to make one hat. “I would just sit and knit,” she laughed. “I really love knitting and it brings me great joy to know that the hats go somewhere where they’ll be appreciated.”
Added Barb, “It’s important that we have access to healthcare here locally and it means a lot to me that I was able to contribute in this way. I’ve previously been a patient, and was cared for extremely well, and it feels nice to be able to give back to recognize that.”
“We are extremely grateful for Barb’s talent and commitment to knitting these hats,” said Katie Forbes, Manager of Maternal/Newborn at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. “It was such a joy to receive new deliveries of hats every so often and to be able to use them to help our newborns stay comfortable and warm.”
Now that she’s completed 1,000 hats, Barb is, deservedly, taking a break!
For more information on making a donation, please visit healthsciencesfoundation.ca or call (807) 345-4673.