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<\/p>\nIf you\u2019ve ever visited our centre in Toronto, you\u2019ve likely seen the beautiful knitted and crocheted hats at the front desk.<\/p>\n
Many of these hats were donated by the Get Well Gang, a group of volunteers who have been knitting and crocheting hats since around 2004. Their mission is to \u201cwarm the hearts and heads of cancer patients.\u201d Nearly 40,000 hats later, the Gang have finally decided to call it a day. But their impact on countless lives, including many of our Wellspring members, is immeasurable.<\/p>\n
Gretchen Huntley of Gananoque started the Get Well Gang after a close friend lost her hair due to an aggressive cancer. Her friend struggled to find something comfortable, functional, and good-looking to cover her head, often resorting to a piece of cloth. She would pull it over her head when in the company of others, to\u00a0which Gretchen would kindly encourage her that she didn\u2019t care what her friend looked like now that her hair had gone. Her friend replied, \u201cYou don\u2019t, but I do.\u201d These words stuck with Gretchen for years.<\/p>\n
This memory of her friend clung to Gretchen, and she knew that, in some way, she wanted to help. It wasn\u2019t until her daughter jokingly placed a half-completed crocheted tea cozy on her head that the idea took shape. \u201cLook, mum, it\u2019s a hat!\u201d A light switched on in Gretchen\u2019s head, and the plan was cemented. She would knit and crochet hats for cancer patients.<\/p>\n
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So, she started crocheting and crocheting and crocheting. What started as a one-woman show eventually grew\u00a0bigger, with a group of volunteers dedicating hundreds of hours of their spare time to making these hats. Their client base soared, with hats travelling to cancer patients across Canada\u00a0and even reaching the United States. The hats were always accompanied by a beautifully written poem by Gretchen, who is Gananoque\u2019s first Poet Laureate. It would read, \u201cWe\u2019ve created this cap just for you\u2026We hope it will make you smile\u2026We also send our best wishes too\u2026May you be well in a very short while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gretchen\u2019s son, John, was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and for twenty years, she watched his daily struggles with the illness. It inspired her to write children\u2019s books to help kids better understand cancer and death; Mama Grog Gets Sick\u00a0and\u00a0The Magic Mirror.\u00a0\u00a0She donates these books free of charge to hospitals and cancer organizations across Canada. But the joy she brought to many lives through the Get Well Gang\u00a0has impacted Gretchen the most. \u201cIt has been the most rewarding experience in my life,\u201d says Gretchen.<\/p>\n
Thanks to Gretchen and her Get Well Gang, thousands of people who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments have been gifted a hat made with love and compassion. We want to thank the Get Well Gang for the lives they have touched at Wellspring and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019ve ever visited our centre in Toronto, you\u2019ve likely seen the beautiful knitted and crocheted hats at the front desk. Many of these hats were donated by the Get Well Gang, a group of volunteers who have been knitting and crocheting hats since around 2004. Their mission is to \u201cwarm the hearts and heads […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":11784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-11758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-inside-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n