Knitters needed to make red baby hats

The American Heart Association is collecting knitted or crocheted red baby hats for its Little Hats, Big Heart Campaign. The hats will be distributed to babies born in hospitals throughout the Chicago area during February, American Heart Month. Courtesy of The American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is kicking off this year's Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign by collecting knitted or crocheted red baby hats.

The hats will be distributed to babies born in hospitals throughout the Chicago area during February, American Heart Month. Hats will be collected from now through Dec. 31, and volunteers are encouraged to visit www.heart.org/LittleHatsBigHearts for hat patterns and more information about the initiative.

The Little Hats, Big Hearts program raises awareness of heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans, and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the country.

The American Heart Association is looking for hats in both newborn and preemie sizes made of yarn that is red, cotton or acrylic, medium to heavy weight, and machine washable and dryable. Donations of yarn are also accepted.



This is the second year of Chicago's Little Hats, Big Hearts program. Last year, the American Heart Association collected more than 15,000 hats from knitters and crocheters in all 50 states and six countries.

Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke.

To help prevent, treat and defeat these diseases, the association funds cutting-edge research, conducts lifesaving public and professional educational programs and advocates to protect public health.

To learn more, call (800) AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.



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