Project Love Scarf Delivery to City of Hope 2013

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 10 years since Robbie died and we had our ninth The Love Scarf Project delivery at City of Hope.  We arrived on Valentine’s Day to a very appreciative group of patients in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.  Robbie’s spirit is definitely with us as we go from patient to patient spreading as much love and joy as possible.

This was the first year that we had donations come from beyond the U.S.  These yummy hats came all the way from India even -- inspired by a post on Facebook by a fan of our project, Maureen Charles.

 

The majority of this year’s scarves and hats – three big boxes full! – came from Nara Dunkerson who rallied the kids from Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Glendale California.  Kids and adults ended up knitting because of her infectious love and enthusiasm for the project.  Nara has been a huge champion and knitter for Love Scarf since the early days.  A group of several kids helped me load the boxes into my car and they were so incredibly joyous to be of service.  Their hearts and faces were beaming with pride.

 

 

Delivery day was amazing because we were able to visit and give big hugs to many of the patients and their families.  One woman is the only person in their large family that knows of her sister’s cancer and is supporting her single-handedly through it.  Another young woman had started her own charity to empower girls when she was diagnosed.  She was always a stand for girl power and her diagnosis spurred her on to encourage girls to appreciate their lives and grab their power.   Each patient was so inspiring.

It was another RED year!  We ran out of red scarves toward the end of our tour of two floors, but even still everyone found a scarf – or scarves – and/or hat(s) that they loved.

When we go into the rooms we ask the patient what their favorite color or colors are, and bring them lots of choices in that range of colors.  We had a couple of men who didn’t have a favorite color, and they looked at us slightly baffled, but had great humor about it, and were delighted to make a choice that was right for them…and get a good hug too!

It was a truly love-filled Love Scarf Project 2013.   We look forward to 2/14/14!  

If you know of someone who knits or crochets, please pass on the word as we take donations all year round, amassing as many scarves as we can so that all the patients are delighted with their choices and can feel loved every time they use their hat or scarf.