90-Year-Old Great-Grandmother Knits Over 11,000 Newborn Hats To Donate to Her Local Hospital for Newborns.

90-Year-Old Great-Grandmother Knits Over 11,000 Newborn Hats To Donate to Her Local Hospital for Newborns.

October 12, 2021 by By Cathy Stack

Retirement hasn’t slowed down 90-year-old great-grandmother Jeanie Shaffer, who has handmade more than 11,000 tiny hats for newborns in her golden years. Every hat Jeanie creates is made with special care — and she has donated them all to her local hospital, UPMC Western Maryland, for the last 15 years. Jeanie volunteers her time every evening creating soft, snug hats. Her homemade hats keep newborns’ heads warm and offer them a cozy, welcoming start to life.  

Hospital staff put a hat on a baby soon after birth to regulate their body temperature. A warm hat calms and comforts newborns as they adjust to life outside the womb. That is why the hospital staff and new moms are so appreciative of Jeanie’s handmade hats. Many families keep the hats as cherished keepsakes; they hold sentimental value as their baby’s first hat.  

Jeanie lives with her husband of nearly 70 years. They have seven children, 15 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. Although she has plenty to keep her busy, she still found time to start a fun hobby in her 70s after she retired. When she began making newborn hats, she found it so purposeful that she never stopped. All her handmade hats are made completely free of charge. When she sits down to make the hats each night, she is completely focused on the task at hand. There is no blaring television or music in the background to disrupt her process. Each hat takes Jeannie approximately 15 minutes and is made to perfectly fit an infant-sized head.   

To honor Jeanie’s years of dedication and selfless volunteerism, the staff decided to collect pictures of her creations to make a scrapbook. The hospital made a special request on social media to all the new moms to submit a picture of their newborn wearing the hat they had received. The response was overwhelming. Thousands of grateful new moms soon shared adorable photos of their newborns wearing their special hats. The staff then compiled a portion of the pictures in an album that they presented to Jeanie.

“I didn’t realize making hats would go this far. I appreciate it a whole lot,” Jeanie said, shocked and surprised at the hospital’s gesture of gratitude for her service. “It makes me feel proud and wonderful that I can do this to give the babies a warm head to start life,” she added. She glanced through the sweet photos, teary-eyed and proud of what her evening hobby has done for the tiniest members of her community.  

The supportive response her donated hats received has encouraged Jeanie to continue her work.

“I’ve always said I want to live to be 100,” Jeanie said. “As long as I’m able to make them, I will,” she vowed.

PassItOn and The Foundation For A Better Life believe Jeanie Shaffer is a hero. Jeanie’s actions are a great example of the value of caring. Her labor of love has brought comfort to precious newborns, and parents treasure her gifts. Please help us celebrate Jeanie by sharing her heartwarming story.

Watch video here:  https://youtu.be/UjmE78YHbk4

Please tell us about your everyday hero. The heroes among us are ordinary people whose actions leave a lasting and positive impact in their communities and demonstrate the potential in all of us. Their heroic acts uphold our shared values. Help honor these individuals by creating a billboard and sharing their story at: http://https://www.passiton.com/your-billboards/create

Sign Up to our PassItOn blog to be inspired: http://www.passiton.com/passiton-blog

SHARE this inspiring story with your friends and family to uplift their day. If you find these posts inspirational, consider favoriting PassItOn on Facebook so you never miss out on our weekly posts.

Pass It On®

  email

Your Comments
Lynise Tarring from Hilo, Hawai'i  APRIL 15, 2022
Thank you Jeanie for sharing the joys of love, faith, and hope. God Bless you and I sincerely wish you well. Happy Easter!

Ruth Zemek from Phoenix OCTOBER 13, 2021
She is a model for us all, an agent of Peace.

Mare McAnany & Family from Philadelphhia PA OCTOBER 13, 2021
PassItOn continues to uplift our hearts in these uncertain times. To know there are loving, caring & generous souls among us is to give all of us renewed hope and Faith for our country. Great Grandmother Jeanie Shaffer is beyond outstanding in sharing her goodness with all the sweet newborns & their Families. May all her love come right back to her. The smile on her beautiful face shows us all what true caring is all about. Thank you from our hearts, Grandmom Jeanie. You have made this world a better place. All those babies will be told your story one day. xo xo xo xo

Lynise Tarring from Hilo, Hawai'i  OCTOBER 13, 2021
God Bless you Jeanie, you are the true joy of love and tons of faith. You are a ray of sunshine and your gifts are treasures. Thank you; sincerely. Lynise Tarring

Mariana from Bronx, N.Y.  OCTOBER 12, 2021
Amazing inspiring woman who has decided what to do to continue on with her life -- in making and giving a gift so essential to babies and their families! Such an inspiration to all of us -- God bless Mariana

Jordi from Valencia, Spain OCTOBER 12, 2021
Amazing story! Could she made one for my baby boy who will be born this coming January? We live in Spain though. Thank you for sharing a beautiful story.

Seshappa M N from Banglore, India  OCTOBER 12, 2021
Absolutely wonderful and inspirational .Love her and her dedication at 90 . Deepest gratitude for this soul.💐💐💐🙏🙏🙏


Here are some other inspiring posts you might like.
We use cookies or similar technologies to process data when you visit our site. This data may relate to your use of our site, your preferences, your device, or other information about you. We and third parties may use this information for a variety of purposes, such as enabling the sites to function, to personalize your experience when using our sites, and for analytical purposes. Read our privacy policy and terms of use for details. close

Reject All Accept All