In addition to the summer regular fare for 16-year olds – vacations, swimming, time with friends – Galion High School senior Caroline Palmer is spending part of her August knitting.

Describing her work on her blog, Palmer shares the following:

“There are several groups in my school raising money for Susan G. Komen and other cancer research funds, but I thought to myself: What difference will that make right NOW for the patients in hospitals who have lost their hair? A lady who has lost one of her most womanly attributes? A man who faces judgment because of scars from a surgery? Or what if those patients’ ears just get a little chilly?”

With these and other motivations as a backdrop, Palmer has established “Heartfelt Hats,” an effort to knit and donate yarn hats for use by hospitals and clinics. She patterned her project after the well-known Head Huggers, which has been donating knit items for use by cancer patients for many years.

For Caroline, it’s also personal. She lost her mother to cancer at the age of four, and witnessed a favorite teacher experience a battle with breast cancer while at Galion Middle School.

To promote her idea, she has established a Heartfelt Hats blog (click here to view). On the site she profiles her latest creations and discusses choices of yarn and colors. Over the last week, the effort has expanded to include a Facebook Page (click here) and a Twitter account (click here). Within 24 hours, her Facebook Page had some 45 fans.

Earlier this year, Palmer received a generous donation of yarn from Galion’s Poland True Value Hardware, and she welcomes any additional contributions.

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2. Hoops for Hopes
3. Galion Community Hospital Installs Digital Mammography System