Teenaged knitter makes hats for those in need
Over the past year, 13-year-old Allysa Narang has devoted her spare moments to knitting hats.
The Grade 8 student, who learned the skill from her mother, gradually tucked away each hat she finished into a box. Over the months, she produced a total of 83 tuques — all of which she donated Saturday to the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre.
Her mother, Anis Narang, said the three boxes full of hats were well-received by staff at the facility’s donation centre, just as temperatures dip in the city and the need for warm clothing rises.
“There is such a need — you just can’t have enough,” Anis said they were told. “Calgary winters are harsh.”
This wasn’t the Grade 8 student’s first major donation. Anis noted her daughter also donated 80some hats to Inn From the Cold last year.
“We had discussed, well if you want to knit some hats and donate them, we can donate them — there’s lots of people who could use that,” she said in an interview.
“So she thought that was a great idea, and we had no idea it would end up being such a focus for her. ... Now, that’s all the knitting she does, is just knitting hats. She just churns them out and saves them all up and we donate them when it gets cold.”
Before knitting hats, Allysa devoted her crafting skills to making bracelets and charms. She made so many that she and her family donated hundreds of them to the Alberta Children’s Hospital and to Ronald McDonald House.
“It was really nice to see her feel good about doing it,” Anis said. “She got something back from it as well: the feeling of doing something nice for others.”
The recipients of the teen’s efforts have all been “very grateful,” she added.
“I think they do a lot to help encourage her to continue,” Anis said. “Every time she donates, it’s nice, because she gets to learn more about places in Calgary where we help our Calgarians in need.”