This is all the handiwork of teacher Jamie Levin. In 2013, Ms. Levin approached First Program Director Nora Elish with an idea, I went in and said, "I think I want to teach my students to knit" and Ms. Elish replied, "Go for it!" The materials for the project come from a young girl named Ellie whose program, KidKnits, began with the simple belief that "you’re never too young to change a life on the other side of the world."

The students in House 34 are changing the world in our local community; they donate the hats that they make to "Homes for the Homeless" which go to young children in the New York City area. While the knitting is the students' main activity, they also learn about Rwanda, Chile, Kenya, and Mexico; KidKnits works with various women-led initiatives in these countries to source the yarn. It’s a way to learn about the world and its problems and shows students that their solutions don’t have to be grandiose to matter, to make change. Thank you to House 34 knitters for showing the Dalton community how to change the world one cozy hat at a time!