PDI Branch Crochets 241 Hats for American Heart Association
An avid crocheter, Praxair Distribution, Inc. (PDI) Sales Support Specialist, Judy Phillips, crocheted 100 hats for toddlers last year in support of the American Heart Association’s Little Hat, Big Hearts campaign. This year, she decided to invite the entire Grant Avenue branch team in Cleveland, OH, to participate: The result: 241 hats -- more than double the number donated last year!
“We couldn’t have done this without the enthusiastic support of our nearly 15 employees here at the Grant Avenue branch,” said Judy. “We needed yarn to crochet/knit the hats, and everyone was so generous in either buying or donating skeins of yarn.”
For instance, Territory Manager Jim DiMarino donated piles of yarn that his mother had once purchased and that he ound while cleaning out her house. Other employees also discovered skeins of yarn in their homes or went out and bought some.
Judy, Territory Manager Terry Hawk and her mother did the actual crocheting/knitting. “We began crocheting the hats in late December and did not finish until the end of March,” said Judy. Terry and her mother knitted 91 hats and Judy completed another 150.
“We were so thrilled to contribute to this wonderful program,” said Judy. “The American Heart Association has enthusiastically thanked us for our especially generous contribution to the campaign,” noted Judy.
Little Hats, Big Hearts™, honors babies and moms in a very special way. In celebration of Mother’s Day and the importance of heart health for the whole family, the American Heart Association partners with local hospitals to deliver red crochet/knitted hats to the families of babies born during the month of May. These tiny red hats, on thousands of babies, symbolize the organization’s shared mission of heart-healthy lives for everyone. The effort also raises awareness of congenital heart defects, and what we can all do to help prevent them.
