A Tiny Hat Can Save a Life

A Tiny Hat Can Save a Life

Carrollton, TX (September 25, 2017) - Each year across the world, one million preterm babies die within their first 28 days. Unable to regulate their temperatures, they are vulnerable to hypothermia and ultimately death. Tiny hats are an easy solution; they give tiny babies a fighting chance.

The University of California San Francisco’s East Africa Preterm Birth Initiative and the Warm Up America! foundation are partnering on the Tiny Hats for Tiny Babies campaign to deliver knitted and crocheted hats to newborn health facilities in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The goal is to collect 1,117 tiny hats to mark World Prematurity day on November 17, 2017 and to present the hats to representatives from East African health ministers attending a global conference in San Francisco.

“Our thousands of volunteers nationwide who year-round provide warm handmade afghans and clothing to people in need are especially moved when the small gesture of providing a warm cap may help a preterm infant survive,” comments Mary Colucci, Warm Up America!’s executive director. “They are enthusiastic supporters of this campaign.” 

"We're thrilled to partner with Warm Up America! and their network of knitters and crocheters," says Dilys Walker, MD, principal investigator for PTBi-EA. "These handmade hats can truly save lives."

For preemie-sized crochet and knitted patterns, a personalized note that volunteers can attach to their tiny hats and more details about the East Africa Preterm Birth Initiative, visit the Warm Up America! and UCSF websites for a downloadable pdf. 

In order to properly package the tiny hats in time for the global conference, donations must arrive at WUA! by Nov. 5 at the following address:  

Warm Up America! Foundation

ATTN: Tiny Hat Campaign

3740 N. Josey Lane, Suite 102

Carrollton, TX 75007

USA

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Working with a network of volunteers nationwide, the charity has been collecting and distributing hand crocheted and knitted afghans and articles of clothing to people in need for more than 25 years. 

At PTBi-EA our focus is on saving lives. Each year across the world, one million preterm babies die within the first 28 days of life, while over 300,000 women die in childbirth. PTBi-EA is working to reduce the number of preterm births and save the lives of preterm infants and their mothers by improving quality of care at health facilities in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the initiative is a partnership of the University of California, San Francisco; Makerere University in Uganda; Kenya Medical Research Institute; the University of Rwanda; and Rwanda Biomedical Center. To learn more about the Initiative, visit http://pretermbirth.ucsf.edu