Community Corner
Volunteers at Comsewogue Library Create Hats for Newborns
More than 60 local residents volunteered at Comsewogue Public Library in February to make hats for the newborns at Stony Brook University Medical Center and St. Charles Hospital.
More than 60 local residents volunteered at in February to knit and crotchet hats for the newborns at and .
“The hats are a warm, welcoming and uniquely special gift that each baby receives shortly after birth,” said Marilyn Fabbricante, director of public and external affairs at St. Charles Hospital. “The volunteers that knit and crochet the hats make them in every possible color and color combination, and they are nothing short of beautiful – each and every one.”
This was the fourth time the library hosting the hat making. Head of the Adult Programming at the library Karen Jaffe expects a successful outcome after all the hats are collected in April.
Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We had 530 hats made out of the first three sessions in November 2009, March 2010 and October 2010. For the fourth session, we didn’t really collect yet. But, we have over three dozen so far,” said Jaffe. “We provide the patterns. They spend two hours at the library, but the rest of the time, they really just do it on their own. It’s due April 11, so they have six weeks to go.”
Jaffe and her husband have the job of delivering the hats to the hospitals.
Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“I usually try to divide them up evenly between Stony Brook and St. Charles,” Jaffe said. “My husband and I give them to public relations.”
The tiny hats get a tremendous reaction from parents.
“The parents are always thrilled and touched when they see their new baby with one of the hand knit or crocheted hats on and often tell the staff that they will preserve the hat in their baby book,” Fabbricante said.
All of this positive feedback started with a simple idea.
“We got the idea from my director. We had heard that in the summer of 2009, [President] Obama wanted to have a summer of service. But, we have to do everything so far in advance, so we decided to do something in the fall,” Jaffe said. “The children’s department did something on teenagers teaching cell phones to adults. The teenagers got some community service for it. In the adult department, a lot of people like to knit. So, that was our idea.”
The library plans to continue running the program due to its popularity.
“We’ve been continuing to do it because people seem to like it and everybody likes baby stuff,” Jaffe said.
