ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A church in Allentown is making sure kids stay warm this winter.
The knitting ministry at First Presbyterian Church is giving away homemade hats to every first grader in the city’s 14 public elementary schools.
“We’re giving the first graders at Jefferson Elementary hats for the winter,” says Paula Butler, First Presbyterian Church of Allentown Knitting Ministry.
Since 2009, the First Presbyterian Church of Allentown’s Knitting Ministry has been making hats for kids.
The idea started with one school, and now caps are created for every first grader in the Allentown School District.
“Well, we enjoy knitting, crocheting, looming hats. Every one is a gift of love,” says Butler.
This year’s giveaway is extra meaningful for the group, as it’s honoring one of its own, late ministry member Betty Jane Black Barnhardt.
“Betty knitted hats for us, hundreds of hats every year. She passed last year,” says Butler.
“One of the things she thought about when she was knitting those hats was her walk across the bridge in the cold winter wind to Jefferson Elementary. So, we thought it would be fitting to give them one of her last hats that they could display in the school,” says Barnhardt.
That hat is being proudly displayed in this shadow box, while students wear the ones they picked out.
“The children are just so appreciative, and they’ve been thanking us, and last year I had students coming up and hugging me, and it just makes your heart very, very full,” says Kathy Dunn, First Presbyterian Church of Allentown Knitting Ministry.
“We hope it keeps them warm; we hope it keeps them safe also,” says Butler.