By JARREL WADE World Staff Writer
10/24/2008
Linda Deal of Catoosa, on whom the Tulsa World originally reported in August, crochets caps to hand out at the Day Center for the Homeless in Tulsa. She has done so for three years, usually completing about 50 caps by Make a Difference Day.
Since the World's article appeared, she has received a windfall of support for her Hats for Homeless initiative. People in Oklahoma, Texas, New York, Colorado and Missouri have sent more than 200 caps, yarn and 25 handmade scarves to her, she said. She was able to crochet about 100 caps this year.
"So many came in, and it energized me," Deal said. "It stacked up three and four bags high.
"I'm just so amazed at the people from everywhere who are helping," she said. "It's overwhelming almost."
Making a Difference -- One Hat at a Time
Making hats for the homeless to help them through the cold winter months is a wonderful project that other crocheters can adopt in their own communities. It's a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn in your stash in a very rewarding way to help some of your neighbors in need.
By JARREL WADE World Staff Writer
8/26/2008
When a woman who's obsessed with crocheting has a living room full of handmade curtains, purses, placemats, rugs, blankets, dolls and scarves, she has to find another outlet for her hobby.
That's how Linda Deal of Catoosa came up with her idea for Hats for Homeless — and she's looking for help.
"My family has all the hats and blankets they can stand, so I had to find someone else to give them to," she said.
Hats for Homeless is a small, one-woman effort to give handmade, crocheted hats to homeless people in Tulsa twice a year.
Deal is gearing up for national Make a Difference Day on Oct. 25, when she will give away her hats at Tulsa's Day Center for the Homeless, she said. Then she will replenish her stock and return to the center a few days before Christmas.
Make a Difference Day is a national day of volunteering, and several organizations take part each year in the Tulsa area.
For each of the last three years, Deal has made about 100 hats. She spends about two hours on each one, she said.
In her fourth year, Deal has decided to step up her effort by creating a Web site and by making even more hats. She already has about 45 made with two months to go.
"I just don't want people to send cash," she said about her Web site, which offers people a way to donate. "I don't want cash. If they want to send yarn, I'll make the hats."
But Deal also wants people to take part who like to crochet or would like to learn, she said.
Her Web site includes a blog, a countdown to Make a Difference Day and links to crochet sites, as well as the request for yarn donations.
So far, Deal has received one donation, she said.
"I'll send them patterns or people can go online and get patterns" if they want to make hats themselves, she said.
Deal has taken relatives and co-workers from CGA Engineers, where she is an administrative assistant, to the Day Center for the Homeless in recent years.
Deal's grandson Brandon Robinson, 14, said some of the people were strange to him initially, but that quickly changed after they began to distribute the hats.
Walking up to the Day Center with a box full of hats is awkward at first, Deal said.
"Then you ask, 'Would you like a hat?' and then you are surrounded," she said. "They are so nice. It tickles them to have something handmade.
"Web site: tulsaworld.com/hatsforhomeless
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080826_11_A7_LnaDas292564