Volunteers Make Over 18,000 Hats for Chicago Newborns

Volunteers Make Over 18,000                     Hats for Chicago Newborns

American Heart Association Red Hat Project for Babies
                                                               American Heart Association Red Hat Project for Babies

Starting Monday, ALL babies born at 30 Chicago area hospitals will be given handmade red hats to raise awareness of congenital heart defects. It’s part of the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts project.

Starting February 1, all babies born at more than 30 Chicagoland hospitals will be given red hats in support of the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts program.

AHA volunteers knitted and crocheted more than 18,000 hats for the Little Hats, Big Hearts project in Chicago, which raises awareness of heart disease, the number one killer of Americans, and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the country. The hats will be distributed during the entire month of February, which is American Heart Month.

The Little Hats, Big Hearts program started in Chicago three years ago. The first year, 300 hats were distributed to nine hospitals. Last year, volunteers from all 50 states and six countries sent in more than 15,000 hats, which were distributed to about 20 hospitals in the Chicago area. Because of the tremendous success, Little Hats, Big Hearts has now spread to more than 30 states and more than 300 hospitals across the country.

About 40,000 American children are born with a heart defect each year. Congenital heart defects are structural problems with the heart that is present at birth. They result when a mishap occurs during heart development soon after conception and often before the mother is aware that she is pregnant.

The volunteers  who participated in the Little Hats, Big Hearts™ project by knitting and crocheting  the hats for the babies for this year began  from August 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015.

• ‘Well Wishes’ for February 2016’s campaign were accepted until January 29th , 2016.  All well wishes received after January 29th, 2016 will be distributed with hats in 2017.

• Hats for 2017’s campaign will be accepted from August 1, 2016 – December 31st, 2016.
The American Heart Association is second only to the federal government in funding cardiovascular and stroke research, including congenital heart defects.

You can see photos of babies wearing the red hats by following the hashtag #LittleHatsBigHearts.

Participating hospitals are:

Advocate At Home
Advocate BroMenn Medical Center/Eureka
Advocate Children’s Hospital – Oak Lawn Campus
Advocate Children’s Hospital – Parke Ridge Campus
Advocate Christ Medical Center
Advocate Condell Medical Center
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
Advocate Sherman Hospital
Advocate South Suburban Hospital
Advocate Trinity Hospital
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Edward Hospital
Elmhurst Hospital
Gottleib Memorial Hospital
Loyola Medicine
MacNeal Hospital
Mended Little Hearts Chicago – Bravery Bags
Morris Hospital
Northwest Community Healthcare
Northwestern Medicine: 
     Central DuPage Hospital 
     Delnor Hospital
     Kishwaukee Hospital
     Lake Forest Hospital
     Prentice Women’s Hospital at Northwestern Memorial Hospital
     Valley West Hospital
Rush University Medical Center
University of Chicago Medicine
West Suburban Medical Center

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