09/27/2021
In 2007, I was a stay at home mom to my 24 month old toddler, Marilyn 7 month old son, Jackson, I came across a story on Facebook about a baby who had Leukemia and passed away before he turned 1 year old. I remember crying for days over the loss of a mother's baby due to this horrible disease. There was a photo of him wearing a handmade hat and that's when it clicked, I could use my knitting, crocheting, and sewing skills to make sure other children and adults out in the world had hats to protect their heads while they fought to beat this cruel disease.
I started my first non profit organization called Weber Head Huggers in 2007. During its peak, we were a group of 24 volunteers that donated handmade hats to anyone who lost their hair due to medical procedures. We donated 500 hats to Primary Children's Hospital, Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah, and hospitals in San Diego. 12 of us even ran the Ogden Half Marathon & 5k to promote my cause. Due to me transitioning from stay at home mom and starting my career in construction management, I couldn't put the time needed to keep my organization going.
I wish I was smart enough to find a cure for cancer, but if I can use my skills to make a hat and make someone smile for 1 minute, then I have helped make this world a beautiful place.
If you can sew, crochet, or knit and you would like to help me donate hats to hospitals in Utah, Southern California, and Mumbai, India, please contact me.
Thank you,
Melanie Old-Poulsen
