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Volunteers knit caps for Harris Regional newborns
By Justin Goble
Babies born at Harris Regional Hospital have leave with a little gift from Polly Fuller and her team of knitters and crocheters, and have been doing so since 1993.
Fuller, 95, has overseen the making of nearly 11,000 baby caps for the newborns at the hospital. In August of this year alone she and her group of volunteers (Pat Ashe, Shirley Beasley, Pearl Fegarsky, Polly Young, Juanita MacArthur, Irene Marx, Patsy McGuire, Eloise Shuler, Rose Smith and Becky Wilson) made caps for each of the 80 babies born at the hospital.
Polly Fuller takes time to look at some of the caps her team of volunteers have made for newborn babies at Harris Regional Hospital. Fuller has overseen the project since 1993, and in its 12 years of operation, the group has made nearly 11,000 caps. Current volunteers come from all over Jackson County, and one resides in Florida. Though Fuller no longer knits herself due to her worsening eyesight, she oversees the project out of her home, where she coordinates delivery and keeps track of the number of caps needed at any given time. – Herald photo by Justin Goble
Fuller said the idea came from one of her daughters, who found out about a similar program.
“It was in 1992,” Fuller said. “My daughter in South Carolina saw that volunteers were making caps for premature babies, She thought that it would be a good idea for Harris.”
At first, Fuller said she followed her daughter’s idea exactly, making caps for the premature babies born at Harris. However, Fuller was unaware that premature babies were sent to Mission Hospitals in Asheville.
“I first took the caps down for premature babies,” she said. “The nurse told me that they weren’t there, and asked me why wasn’t I doing this for all the babies.”
Taking the nurse’s advice, Fuller got a team of volunteers together to knit and crochet caps. She said that it was hard to get volunteers to help out at first. Eventually, though, they started to come around.
“It was hard for the first few weeks,” she said. “Eventually, they started to find the fun in it.”
As for the caps themselves, they are a far cry from the typical blue or pink caps that babies usually wear leaving the hospital. Intricately designed and knitted or crocheted, each cap takes up to three hours to make, according to Fuller. The group of volunteers averages 15 to 20 caps per week.
This doesn’t account for the caps that are made for special occasions, which are even more intricate. Pumpkin-lookng caps are made for Halloween, as are hearts for Valentine’s Day. Caps intended for the Christmas season are a festive red and white, many with a snowflake pattern.
The cap-makers have to account for the different sized babies as well.
“We try to send different sizes,” she said. “Some babies weigh 6 pounds when they’re born, some weigh 8.”
Being a strictly volunteer effort, materials and supplies are more often than not paid for by those volunteering.
The caps have become a mainstay of Harris Regional in the 12 years that Fuller and her volunteers have been making them. Fuller said that she thought a major reason for that was the thought behind every cap made.
“It’s a gift,” Fuller said. “It’s way to say hello and welcome people to the community. I’ve had some mothers come to me and say, ‘I’ve come to earn my third cap.’ Doctors have told me that patients just love them.”
The caps are so popular that some family members have gone out of their way to show the group appreciation.
“One time we got a letter from a grandmother in Cashiers,” Fuller said. “She gave us a check and wanted us to use it to buy yarn and supplies. “
As the years have progressed, numerous volunteers throughout Jackson County have contributed their time and effort to the project. The volunteer effort has expanded beyond Western North Carolina as well.
“There is this one woman, Irene Marx, who heard about it,” she said. “She lived in Florida, and she said she would make caps. Once a month, she sends us 10 to 12 caps.”
Currently, Fuller doesn’t knit the caps herself. She said that she knitted up to three years ago, but her worsening eyesight caused her to quit.
That’s not to say Fuller isn’t fully involved in the project. All caps are brought to her house, where they are either transported to Harris Regional or picked up by the nurses. Fuller hand-counts every cap to make sure there are enough to accommodate the number of births, along with labeling each cap with the name of the person who made it and stuffing them with filler material She even keeps track of the caps in a little green notebook full of hand-written notes and figures.
Though it is obvious that the families of newborn babies appreciate these little gifts, Fuller herself has nothing but praise and grattitude for the group of volunteers that makes the project possible.
“It’s nice to have a wonderful project that so many people can help with,” she said.
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