FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sarah Guenther
972-325-7232
Tiny Hats for Tiny Babies saves lives for second year in a row
Carrollton, TX (October 29, 2018) - Tiny Hats for Tiny Babies™ is the brainchild of team members from the University of California San Francisco Global Maternal Newborn Child Health Research Cooperative (UCSF-GMNCHRC). Visiting clinics and hospitals in East Africa, they noticed that many tiny babies (preterm or underweight) were not wearing hats that could provide life-saving warmth. They concluded that knitted and crochet hats would be a cost-effective solution to give tiny babies a fighting chance and they contacted Warm Up America!
In 2017, WUA! volunteers assisted in creating an amazing 17,000+ hats for newborns. This small gift of a baby hat was a great success, delighting mothers and helping health care professionals initiate discussions about care for newborns, including breastfeeding, kangaroo care and general strengthening of facility care.
As a result of this success, this year the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is
also partnering with UCSF, which will enable the university to expand the program
to additional low- and middle-income countries.
Can we count on the crochet and knitting communities’ continued support to help us
reach the goal of again creating 17,000 tiny hats? The deadline for Tiny Hat
submissions to Warm Up America! is Nov. 17, World Prematurity Day.
UCSF has prepared a detailed downloadable pdf, which includes a note card that can
be attached to your tiny hat and personalized with wishes to the new mother, along
with shipping options and patterns. More details and patterns are also available at
the Warm Up America! website. Following are the tiny hat requirements in brief:
• The average premature baby in Africa is about 3-4 pounds with a head
circumference of 10 in-12.5 in (26-32 cm)
• There are suggested patterns, but feel free to use any pattern that you like, just be
sure that it is sized appropriately
• Please use a soft acrylic yarn in bright colors
• Please prewash and thoroughly dry the hat in a non-scented or baby-friendly detergent. Tiny babies are very sensitive.
Please mail or deliver your tiny hats to Warm Up America!, the GMNCHRC or AAP
(see addresses in the pdf) by Nov. 17.
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ABOUT WARM UP AMERICA!
Started in a small Wisconsin town with neighbors knitting and crocheting afghans for neighbors in need, Warm Up America! is a charity that has warmed people's lives since 1991. Founder Evie Rosen came up with the idea of having volunteers knit or crochet small sections and then others join them together to make a full afghan, which quickly caught on. Thanks to the generosity of knitters and crocheters around the country, today Warm Up America! distributes warm afghans, caps and other items to tens of thousands of people in need.
