Educational Coordinator Brandon Gragnano knew that students at Pivot Charter School Riverside wanted to do more to give back to their community. Through his wife Chelsea, he learned about Knots of Love, a program that distributes knitted caps and blankets to chemotherapy patients and babies in neonatal intensive care units and thought knitting caps would be a great community service project for Pivot Riverside students. He was right.
On November 7th, Brandon and his students raised their knitting needles, looped their yarn and got busy making their first caps for their newly established “We Care Wednesday” community service club.
Originally, the primary goal for “We Care Wednesdays” was to “knit small beanies which will be donated to a local hospital to be used in the NICU,” said Brandon. “However, we took a break from knitting before Thanksgiving to pack care packages that we donated to a local housing shelter.”
The number of participants in the “We Care Wednesday” club varies between 5-10 students on any given day, however, students who work primarily from home have asked to participate when they’re not at the resource center.
Upcoming projects for the “We Care Wednesday” group include assembling more care packages, writing letters to veterans, and other student-proposed charitable inspiration.
Brandon and the students at Pivot Riverside hope to grow “We Care Wednesday” because “it’s not only a great way for students to complete their community service requirement but also a rewarding way for Pivot to contribute to the community as a student body. The reaction and excitement of accomplishment from each student after completing their very first beanie is a great memory.”