Stitch-a-Wish Making a Difference one stitch at a time

Last year, 1,070 volunteers donated 95,211 hours of their time, which is equivalent to a donation of $2,228,714! Some of those volunteers include Cook Children’s Stitch-a-Wish volunteer program. Since 2003, tens of thousands of items have been created and given to sick and injured children.

Stitch-a-Wish volunteers sew, knit, and crochet for the patients at Cook Children’s. The program provides the patients with colorful, child friendly pillowcases that brighten their rooms; medical play therapy dolls that help patients learn about and understand the medical procedures they undergo; telemetry bibs that allow toddlers mobility even while attached to heart or seizure monitoring equipment; blankets to brighten the child’s room and bring them warmth and comfort, and knitted or crocheted purple baby hats to remind parents to keep their infants safe. These items, and many others, are utilized daily throughout the medical center for comfort, therapeutic play, arts and crafts, and safety.

The Stitch-a-Wish program was formed in October 2005 when a call went out to the community for people who sewed to give their time and talents to hospitalized children by providing them with items that normally would not be available. The message was heard and the program has grown tremendously. Since the start of the Stitch-a-Wish program, tens of thousands of items have been sewn and donated to sick and injured children. The needs are ongoing and continue to grow as Stitchers create more items that make the young patients’ hospital stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

A vision of the Stitch-a-Wish program is that all patients (3 years and older) receive their very own small pillow and pillowcase to use during their stay and take home with them upon discharge. As a non-profit pediatric hospital, this can only happen through the support of volunteers and donors who are willing to give of their time and resources. Our invitation to sew, knit, or crochet is extended to everyone interested in volunteering from home. For more information on the program please contact Christy Beck, Stitch-a-Wish Program Coordinator, at christy.beck@cookchildrens.org or 682-885-4590.

Learn how you can get involved by visiting http://bit.ly/2ChOHML.