Crochet for Charity - Our Crochet Hero

We would like to introduce to you a crochet hero, Gay Hutson of Arizona. Gay is 82 and has been crocheting since she was 7 years old. For the past 15 years, Gay has been spent time on projects where she crochets for charity, enlisting the help of her neighbours and community to help her with whatever they can.

Crochet for Charity

Gay belongs to her local VFW hall and through them she got involved with a program called “Stand Down”, a nationwide organization that helps Veterans in need, especially homeless Veterans. The Stand Down program hosts events to provide essentials, such as food, clothing, counselling, blankets, and substance abuse help, as well as job placement assistance and legal help to Veterans.  Gay got involved making lightweight mats out of recycled plastic bags to provide to go under sleeping bags for homeless Veterans, putting her neighbours to work helping her fold and cut plastic grocery bags to make "plarn"; once they make "plarn", Gay and other crocheters crochet it into 4 ft by 6 ft mats and attach straps to make them easier to carry. She also makes hats, each with a prayer attached, for military men and women. They receive them upon deployment.

Gay's favourite charities are the Soroptomist International Club and the  “Catch it Early” Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation. The Soroptomist International of Lake Havasu, AZ sponsors The Soroptomist Club at the local high school, it's a volunteer organization for young, business-minded women with the goal to provide service and charity in the community, with a focus on improving the lives of women and children. They offer scholarships and Gay donates items to this charity and they raffle them off for funds for the program. Her other favourite charity to donate to is the ”Catch it Early” Program at the Kingman Medical Center; a program that focuses on detecting breast cancer early and fighting it early. Gay crocheted a pink and purple afghan using the Mary Maxim pattern Hope Afghan  and donated them to this program. They sold raffle tickets for these two beautiful works of art and brought in over $5000 to the program. This money will be able to help save lives by offering free mammograms to those without insurance in her local area. Early detection is key to saving lives. Gay standing near one of her donations that helped raise $5000 for early breast cancer detection. Gay does all this out of the kindness of her heart, it makes her feel good to contribute to her community and to give back in any way she can. She crochets items up for her neighbourhood wine night, and her friends love to brag about her crochet skills. Gay also makes it a point to make gifts for her neighbours when they are expecting new grandchildren. She is always thinking about others. This is why Gay is our crochet hero. Do you know someone who is an inspiration in the crafting world, we would? Maybe an organization you work with needs to be recognized.  We'd love to hear how you Knit or Crochet for Charity. Email us contact info and a breif story to caninfo@marymaxim.ca and they may be our next feature!

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