Saturday, January 10, 2008
We had a fantastic event on Saturday morning with the women of Grace Chapel Church here in Leipers Fork, TN. What an amazing bunch of women!
A few months ago, my good friend Reese Smith introduced the Knit One, Save One Campaign, a national grassroots effort launched by the global humanitarian organization Save the Children and the Warm Up America Foundation, to his wife, Emily, an avid knitter and member of the "Knitting with Grace" club at the church. The initiative aims to draw attention to the 4 million newborns that die each year in the first month of life in the developing world. Participants are asked to make a baby cap, and are also encouraged to write a personal note to President-elect Barack Obama urging him to lead the way to save millions of babies globally.
Emily Smith, Beth Ann Bright, Mary Bit Mahaffey and a number of other women in the group committed to 100 caps. And, like the story of the loaves and the fishes, they just multiplied exponentially! Saturday, the "Knitting with Grace" club presented me with over 500 knitted caps and over 500 caps made by machine. Over 1000 caps!
These little caps will each be shipped, along with thousands from all 50 states to pregnant women and new moms and their babies in Save the Children's programs in Africa and Asia. Hypothermia is a contributing cause of death for newborns, especially small babies unable to maintain their body temperature. To keep infants safe and warm, these little caps will be given for them to wear along with helpful advice to moms about hygiene and breastfeeding. These little caps will be a key component of a life saving package.
It was so exciting to see the amazing work these women had done. Thank you Grace Chapel Church for your initiative, advocacy, awareness-raising, and hard work for the least of these.
To read more about the campaign, and see how many caps Americans have made, go here: www.savethechildren.org/knitonesaveone. The deadline for the project has been extended to January 31st. Let us know if you would like to be involved!
Best,
Bill Frist