During a weekend remembering Cheryl, we dropped donations by 3 hospitals. Our first stop on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018 was Children's Masonic Hospital.

Three boxes included 129 hats and one teddy bear. Of those, 84 were infant/premie. At a rough estimate of $15 a hat, that's a donation valued at about $2,754.

The NICU at the U of M Masonic Children's Hospital in Minneapolis was thrilled to get 22 tiny handmade hats from Team Yarn on Friday, April 3, 2015. 

Alissa Schmitz was quite grateful on behalf of the NICU!

We also donated 23 children's hats to be used throughout the hospital. These we dropped with the folks at the front desk.

Learn more about the Masonic Children's hospital (formerly Amplatz) and our former donations by clicking here. 

Mother Masha Golberstein couldn't resist this pigtail hat made by Aurora Pass for her little boy during our visit on Friday, April 3, 2015. 

No, mama, no hat!

Mama achieves success - briefly - while he's preoccupied with cartoons.

When he realizes there is a hat on his head, off it comes!

Two-year-old Hillel was getting his kidney dialysis treatment during our visit. 

Hillel is being treated at U of M Masonic Children's Hospital in Minneapolis (formerly named Amplatz) and had recently flown in from his home in Israel. 

Hillel is waiting for a kidney transplant, but needs to be free of infections first. Two of his siblings also have kidney issues, specifically vesicoureteric reflux (VUR).

With my son's recent kidney troubles, I found the visit to be heart-breaking, but it was encouraging to meet such a strong mama and her adorable son. The family is in our prayers.

Click here to view past donations to the U of M Amplatz/Masonic Children's Hospital.

Today, Thursday, May 29. 2014, we dropped off 60 fun and funky children's hats at Amplatz Children's Hospital in Minneapolis.

We donated there last year in June. Read about all the good work they do at Amplatz here in the post titled: Kids at Amplatz Like All Sorts of Hats.

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. 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 didn't come in on a day when the Child Family Life advocates were working, the the lady at the front desk thanked us for the great donations. At an average value of $15 a hat (and really, these handmade beauties are worth more!), we donated a value of $900. Pat yourself on the backs for that!!

“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.