There may be nothing cozier than a warm blanket, crocheted with love and kindness in your favorite color, to wrap yourself in when it is too cold to go outside. It can almost feel like a hug, especially when you know that the blanket was made just for you. At least, that is how Cynthia O’Hagan sees it, and why she wanted to make a very special contribution to the home of Maximine B. and her sister, Michelle M.
Maximine and Michelle recently aged out of foster care. They got an apartment together and had that apartment filled with all the necessary home furnishings that Hearts to Homes provides. As Maximine tells it, they weren’t expecting to have their home completely furnished: “When me and my sister moved in, we didn’t really have much, or enough money to buy all these things, so once we were sent them ,we were like wow that was amazing! And continued to save more money for the rent. It was actually very helpful.”
Maximine reached out to H2H Executive Director Mary Theresa McCombe to thank her and got yet another surprise. Mary Theresa asked if the sisters would like some cozy blankets, made specifically for them by a special donor.
Cynthia found out about Hearts to Homes when her boss at Marketsmith, Monica Smith, put out an email about filling an apartment registry for a former foster youth. Though she thought H2H was a wonderful organization, Cynthia didn’t have the means to contribute financially, and she wanted to find another way to help. She was moved when Mary Theresa spoke at Marketsmith, and recalls with emotion, “The one line that stood out to me, is ‘[these kids] never had anything of their own that was brand new.’”
From there she had an idea – she could contribute unique blankets for the youth receiving assistance from Hearts to Homes! Cynthia had been crocheting since grammar school, where she learned from a friend, and had made many baby and full-sized blankets for almost everyone in her life. She even calls crocheting her therapy. Cynthia had always wanted to support foster children, and this was the perfect way for her to do it, utilizing her talents to create something comforting and personal.
To make it even more special, she thought, “Everyone is so quick to give secondhand or hand- me-downs too…What if I let these kids pick out their own color for their own room so they can say ‘someone made this for me’?”
So after connecting with Mary Theresa, who offered the blankets to Maximine and Michelle, the plan was in motion. Michelle picked a lovely coral blue for her color, and Maximine says her choice of baby pink was obvious: “My favorite color is color is pink – my whole room is pink, so of course I’m going to go with pink!”
When the sisters received their blankets, they were surprised at how fast they came and loved how soft and warm they were. The apartment can get chilly in the winter months, and they were grateful for the comfort. The loved the colors, and Maximine, in particular, was inspired by the blankets – in a lovely coincidence, she used to crochet in middle school, making little hats, and she says, “It got me thinking, hmm, maybe I should go back to that as a hobby!”
Maximine continues, “I’m inspired by her giving to people – if you like doing something that makes you feel happy, and then to be able to give it to other people to make them feel happy? That’s a great thing that I also look forward to doing.”
And Cynthia is happy with how this little idea to give back in the way she could turned into something tangible. “I wanted these girls to know that someone cares about them. I’m happy if I can make someone feel loved. That’s what we are supposed to be doing in life.”
Cynthia hopes each youth enjoys the blankets as much as she enjoys making them – because she is not finished with her crocheted donations. She recently worked on a few more blankets, in pink, white, and blue, and they will find a home with other former foster youth who would love something cozy to snuggle into this February.