On a recent Thursday at Stone Middle School in Centreville, instead of rushing home when classes ended, 50 students gathered in the cafeteria to create jester hats for sick children. They worked in teams, each performing one of the 12 tasks that, all together, resulted in a finished hat.
At seventh-grader Amanda Phung’s table, students inserted the elastic to make the hat sizes adjustable. "The hardest part is pushing it through," said Amanda. "But I feel really good because I know I’m helping kids who have cancer."
She and the others were participating in a workshop for Glories/Happy HATS (Helping Adolescents to Succeed), a Fairfax-based nonprofit organization that benefits children with serious illnesses. At the same time, it encourages youth, 6-18, to participate in a community-service project.
In just two hours, they worked on 600 hats made of soft fabric in brightly colored patterns. Then, to each one, they attached a tag bearing a cheerful, encouraging note from its maker. This batch of jester hats was headed for Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, where they’re always a welcome sight.
"When the Glories hats arrive at our hospital, it’s as if the rain clouds have moved away and the sunshine has come in with the happiness that the hats bring," said Emily Kear, Child Life Specialist at Inova.
City of Fairfax resident Susan Khorsand, who brought all the materials and equipment to make the hats at Stone, founded Happy HATS as a tribute to her mother who died when Khorsand was 15. She said Inova needs 10,000 of these hats each year.
Trisha Egbers, who teaches Family and Consumer Sciences (today's home economics) at Stone, said the program came to Fairfax County Public Schools when a group of teachers got together to do Happy HATS as a community-service project. Egbers shared literature about it with other teachers at Stone. "Several of the teachers contacted Susan to bring this wonderful program to our students. Part of what we do in our classes is to provide opportunities for the students to give back to the community," Egbers said.
Eighth-grader Emerita Ayala worked on a hat at Amanda’s table. "I feel good because I’m not doing it for a project or a grade," she said. "I’m doing it because I wanted to and because I like to help people."
Classmate Daniel Braunstein said it was difficult "to cut the seams because they’re so little; it’s hard to get in there." But he was glad to take part "because it’ll make kids happy." Added his twin brother Josh: "It’s fun because I know I’m doing it for a good cause."
Egbers said she hopes the Happy HATS project can be an ongoing one at Stone, not just a one-time thing. "But we need corporate support to fund the supplies," said Susan. And she’s hoping that businesses interested in increasing their community profile and supporting youth will rise to the occasion. For more information or to help, call her at 703-506-1415. Or see www.glorieshappyhats.org.