Caps and Notes Taken to Nation's Capital
Read note of thanks from President Bush, First Lady
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Children from Memphis, Tenn. show their caps to Rep. Marsha Blackburn (second from right) during their visit to Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Rep. Marsha Blackburn's Office. |
When the Knitters and Crocheters for Newborns: Caps to the Capital project was launched in July 2006, Save the Children didn't know how people would respond. The project culminated at the end of January with a full day of events in Washington, D.C. and with a final count of well over 280,000 caps for newborn babies!
The flood of support for this project came from knitters and crocheters from all 50 states and from locations as far away McMurdo Station, a science and engineering center in Antarctica. Letters and caps poured in to Save the Children's headquarters from people age 3 to 99 — bus drivers to doctors, corporation chiefs to leaders of faith-based institutions, girl scouts to college service groups.
In total, over 20,000 people sent in caps and over 11,000 people wrote notes to President Bush. From this group of participants, a delegation of 53 people joined Save the Children and the Warm Up America! Foundation in Washington, DC on January 31 to meet with their elected officials and to advocate on behalf of millions of mothers and babies globally. The delegation included student groups from Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Minnesota and North Carolina along with individuals from Philadelphia, Illinois and Maryland and even members of a Girl Scout Troop from Connecticut. In meetings with key policymakers, the delegation used both their caps and their voices to show their support for newborn babies worldwide.
In addition to meetings on Capitol Hill, Charles MacCormack, president and CEO, Save the Children; Cheryl Gunnells, president, Warm Up America! Foundation; and two delegates from Texas went to the White House to meet with a key member of the Bush Administration staff. The group gave a briefing on the project and presented caps from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. At the end of the meeting, the eight-year-old delegate from Texas left behind one of her handmade caps to show First Lady Laura Bush.
After a full day of advocating, the knitters and crocheters went to USAID to meet with child survival expert Dr. Al Bartlett. Dr. Bartlett outlined USAID's work on child survival and also addressed the issue of what more needs to be done to save newborn lives globally. He commended the group of knitters and crocheters for writing notes to the President and for meeting with policymakers on Capitol Hill.
In the evening, a reception was held at the Textile Museum to honor all the knitters and crocheters who took part in the project. Caps from all 50 states were on display and over 100 people attended the event which was hosted by ABC Senior News Analyst and Save the Children Trustee Cokie Roberts.
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