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Baby Caps to Remind America's Leaders to Do More to Save Newborn Lives in Developing Countries
Caps to the Capital Initiative Aims to Engage Knitters and Crocheters
in all 50 States
Westport, CT (July 12, 2006) — Baby caps from everywhere in the country will be delivered to Washington, D.C. early next year, reminding America’s leaders that simple, inexpensive solutions like knit or crochet caps can save millions of newborn lives.
That’s the goal of a new grassroots effort — Knitters and Crocheters for Newborns: Caps to the Capital — announced today by Save the Children, a global humanitarian organization, and the Warm Up America! Foundation, a charity dedicated to providing knitted and crocheted items to people in need.
The idea for the Caps to the Capital project was spun from knitters and crocheters themselves, who contacted Save the Children after seeing media coverage of its recent State of the World’s Mothers 2006 report, released this past May. The report found that the first 24 hours of life are the most dangerous time for babies in the developing world. Of the more than 4 million newborns who die each year, 2 million die within the first 24 hours of life. Several news reports noted that something as simple as a knit cap could help save a baby’s life.
These two organizations plan to engage thousands of volunteer knitters and crocheters to help raise awareness about the need to do more to help babies in developing countries survive their first month of life. Once the caps - along with personal notes from knitters and crocheters across the country - are delivered to Washington, D.C., they will then be taken overseas to babies who need them in developing countries.
“We know Americans — including knitters and crocheters — care about saving the lives of newborn babies in the developing world,” said Charles MacCormack, president and CEO of Save the Children. “This effort gives them a way to act. By making a cap, they can help us save a life. By using their voice, they can help us save millions.”
“It has always been the principal goal of the foundation to provide warmth to people in need,” explains Warm Up America! president Cheryl Gunnells. “It just made sense for the foundation, with its extensive network of volunteers, to act as a facilitator for this national effort.”
The initiative asks volunteer knitters and crocheters to take three steps before January 2007 to help us save newborn lives. These steps include: knit or crochet a cap; write the President; and unite for newborns. Download a Caps to the Capital Action Kit and learn more.
Research shows that 70 percent of the 4 million newborn deaths that occur each year could be prevented if mothers and children in poor countries had access to a simple package of health measures. This package includes antibiotics to fight infections, immunizations against tetanus, training for skilled birth attendants, education on breastfeeding and basic care such as drying a newborn baby and keeping it warm (this is where the caps come in). America’s leaders could save millions of newborn lives by increasing international assistance for programs that offer these inexpensive life-saving tools.
The Warm Up America! Foundation (warmupamerica.org) is committed to motivating, training and coordinating volunteers to knit and crochet clothing and afghans for people in need. Since the Warm Up! America Foundation was founded in the early 1990s, volunteers have knitted and crocheted 12 million squares that were joined into hundreds of thousands of afghans
