By Suzy Alstrin
Recognizing that all babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) need hats to maintain their body temperature, a service-learning project at Reinhardt stepped in to help. Director of Library Services Shannon Gibson organized and taught crocheting to members of the University community. As a result, volunteers crafted 43 hats for premature babies at Northside Hospital Cherokee in Canton, Georgia.
“The group selected Northside Hospital Cherokee’s Special Care Nursery because they are our Cherokee County neighbor,” Gibson explained. “They are participating in a March of Dimes event, and now the babies will all have matching hats.” The event, March for Babies, strives to improve health outcomes for every mother and child.
Gibson’s grandmother taught her to crochet at age nine and Gibson has never stopped. Because of her enjoyment in teaching it, students, faculty, and staff learned a craft dating back hundreds of years while giving back to the community.
The tiniest hat (pictured) is for a four to ten-ounce baby, under 20 weeks’ gestation. It only has 80 stitches. The largest hat the group made fits a baby weighing two to three pounds and has 132 stitches.
