HOW DID HAPPY HEADS DC GET STARTED?

Well, we're glad you asked!

A former DC CAC staff member and avid knitter aggressively collected yarn faster than she could use it up. (When you have a fiber addiction, it’s hard to quit.) She remembered the needs of many of the children at the DC CAC and decided to combine that knowledge, her skills and an insatiable yarn appetite. By the winter of 2003 she had created nearly twenty unique winter hats for children who often had little or seasonally inappropriate clothing. The next winter she brought the idea to a local yarn shop, and within weeks knitters from around the area had created several dozen hats! The children were happy, and the knitters and crocheters felt good.

2005 brought about significant changes and attention to the program, which by this point had become more than just one knitter’s hobby. With the support of several DC area yarn shops, the program has spread and now had a name, Happy Heads DC! It even attracted the attention of several members of the US House of Representatives!

I LIKE TO KNIT/CROCHET. HOW CAN I HELP?

Just make a hat! All colors, styles and sizes are needed, from infant to adult, as the CAC serves children up to age 17. (Be sure to use fiber that is easily washable, kids get dirty, you know!) Make them fun for kids to wear! Send your finished hats to:

Safe Shores, The DC CAC
Attn: Victim Services Coordinator/Knitted Hats
300 E St., NW
Washington, DC 20001

There are lots of charity knitting programs around. Please have fun, and use your skills to help out as many as you can! Remember, you live in the DC metro area!