A Good Yarn

Cancer is scary, no matter what age you are. Losing your hair is downright awful.

For kids undergoing chemotherapy, losing their hair can be especially traumatic. To help make it less difficult and frightening, a mother in Alaska came up with a magical idea.

After learning a friend’s two-year-old daughter, Lily, was diagnosed with cancer, Holly Christensen, a mother of three, crocheted Lily a wig. She used extra-soft yarn so it doesn’t irritate a bare scalp like a traditional wig does.

What makes Lily’s wig magical is it resembles the long locks of a fairy princess and is adorned with bows, gems and flowers. The wig was a hit with Lily and her mother, who encouraged Holly to make more of them for other children with cancer.

Soon after, Holly and a friend, Bree Hitchcock, co-founded the Magic Yarn Project. The mission of their non-profit is to create beautiful, soft yarn wigs for children battling cancer and to inspire volunteerism.

Volunteers crochet caps which serve as the foundation for the wigs. During workshops, volunteers attach the strands of yarn that become the “hair” for each wig. When completed, the wigs are shipped across the country –free of charge – to children who are battling cancer. Donations fund the cost of materials and shipping.

“The Magic Yarn Project aligns with the State Farm Neighborhood of Good^® — which encourages people to turn caring into doing by volunteering in their communities,” says State Farm^® says Marketing Manager Mandy Laux. "After learning what Holly and Bree are doing to bring joy to children who are fighting cancer, State Farm was inspired to make a donation the two woman can use toward supplies.”

The whimsical wigs are based on popular children’s characters – such as pirate captains for boys and princesses for girls. More than 5,500 of the wigs have been donated to children with cancer.

“We’ve received so many letters from parents telling us how much it meant to them to see their child smiling again because their childhood has been nothing but needles, pain and hospitals,” says Holly.