Kids at Amplatz like all sorts of hats

“Thank you. This is wonderful. The kids are going to love them,” Elizabeth Haymaker told us as we dropped off two boxes of hats at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital - Journey Clinic in Minneapolis on Tuesday, June 18, 2013.

In all, there were 104 hats, scarves and shawls made by 13 Team Yarn volunteers that filled the boxes donated to Amplatz. These donations brought our overall total up over 450 items.

“Being able to actually do something has its benefits,” Team Yarn co-founder Amy Pass told the Amplatz representatives. “I needed to do something that was calming after my mom passed away.”

Accepting our donation on behalf of Amplatz were Elizabeth Haymaker and Tara Poncelet.

Elizabeth and Tara both earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and master’s degrees on the East Coast in Child Family Life. Their job is to help kids figure out their diagnosis and deal with it. They see many cases of leukemia and lymphoma, but also many rare types of cancer. “There is a wide range,” said Tara.

Children age 0-25 are treated at Amplatz. Some are outpatient and some inpatient. Each month, roughly 1,000 kids go through the Amplatz outpatient clinic.

“We do a lot of hands-on and interactive activities to help kids understand what’s going on at their level,” explained Elizabeth.

They field lots of questions. Kids are concerned about hair loss. They wonder what is going on with their bodies. They want to know if they can still do the things they’ve always done.

When it comes to choosing a hat, kids at Amplatz are all different. Some want one that’s a certain color. Others want a different hat for each day. They view a hat like a hairstyle, and want lots of variety. Some just want a hat that keeps their head warm. Others care a great deal about texture.

We told Elizabeth and Tara that Team Yarn members would be happy to take requests from anyone that wants a certain type or color, or wants matching hats. It looks like they’re going to take us up on that in the future. We’ll post more when we have it.

Tesha, Kelli and Josey in the lobby at Amplatz

Amy and Josey waiting for the light to turn green to cross the street.

Amy displays Kelli McCully's oh-so-soft shawl.

Introducing ourselves to Elizabeth Haymaker and Tara Poncelet of the Child Family Life department at Amplatz.

Ooooing and ahhhing over beautiful hats

What a fun hat!

Goodbye for now

The man behind the hospital: Karl Amplatz, MD.