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The Get Well Gang is a goup of people who knit and crochet hats to donate
to patients suffering hair loss resulting from cancer treatment.
The group was founded in Gananoque, Ontario by Gretchen Huntley as a way
to memorialize her dear friend, Celeste Rausch. Ms. Huntley was working at
developing a hat pattern that would be suitable and gave the first one
to a TD Canada Trust Bank employee for her sister to wear during her
cancer treatments. The women who work in the bank loved the look of the
hat and were delighted with the idea of lending support to women facing
this most difficult time in their lives. Not only did they start
crocheting hats, they also launched a fundraiser to offset the cost of
supplies and postage to see the hats get to where they are needed most.
The idea and the hats just took off! To date “The Get Well Gang” has
given away over 12000 hats in over 76 locations across Canada. The hats are made of soft cotton so
they are comfortable for the patients to wear. They come in colours as
varied as the imaginations of the people who make them.....something for
everyone.
ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY EXCHANGES HANDS! These are a gift of caring from
“The Get Well Gang” to the recipient. To personalize the gift, each hat
carries a card signed by the person who handcrafted the hat. Even
people who don’t crochet wanted to get involved so some cards are signed
by the person who generously donated to supply the materials.
The hats have been so well received that the project is larger and more
far reaching every day. We have hats in about 20 locations across the
province of Ontario including all of the Regional Cancer Centres. We
have even sent hats to Iqaluit. Email interest has been received from
any number of places, including a correctional facility in Wisconsin!
No one is considered insignificant in this project and we are happy to
accomodate individual requests.
Hat patterns are free to anyone interested in getting involved in our project.
Our patterns now include both knit and crocheted patterns for women, as well
as a pattern for a crocheted man's cap and a child's crocheted hat pattern.
Patterns are sent along with each initial shipment of hats in the hope that
people will get involved in their area and help us keep our project alive.
Feedback from the various locations and individuals has been wonderfully
gratifying. We are at the point where some centres have replenished
their supply more than once and are coming to depend on the project to
fill a need. Not everyone wants or can afford a wig and the hats offer
a fashionable, no cost alternative.
Every member of “The Get Well Gang” wishes that these hats were not
needed, but sadly enough this is not the case. We plan to continue our
project as long as we can brighten the day of someone undergoing cancer
treatment, while wishing for the day cancer has been beaten so we can
joyfully move on.
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