As many people have been preparing to run out the door to start their holiday shopping, one North Nashville teen has been planning to stay home and make gifts for people she has never met leading up to the holiday season.
Augustina Orozco, age 18, is the new mother of a 2-month-old and a student, but she has still found time everyday to crochet with the hope of helping those in need.
“Sometimes it gets a little messy in the house because I have yarn everywhere,” Orozco said.
Orozco started crocheting when she was 6 years old, taking tips from her grandmother.
“She would always sit on the couch and crochet,” Orozco remembered. “I asked her sometimes, ‘Can you teach me?’ And she would teach me.”
Now Orozco can make ten or more hats every day, and she’s using that skill to help her keep the homeless of Nashville warm this holiday season.
“One ball of yarn could be help for five people,” Orozco said.
Leading into the winter months, Orozco has been hoping to give out more than 2,000 hats and scarves to those in need, a cause close to her heart, as her mother was once homeless.
“Christmas isn’t always about receiving,” Orozco said. “It’s about giving as well.”
Orozco has already given out more than 200 hats that she’s made, and she makes sure each hat is unique, so everyone who has received one feels special.
“It really fills my heart to know that someone is wearing the stuff that I make,” Orozco said.
So far Orozco has made about 300 hats to give out, and to reach her goal by December 19th when she plans to hand out the hats and scarves, she said she needs some help.
Orozco has been hoping people will donate hats and scarves that they have either crocheted themselves, or that they simply want to donate. If they don’t have any hats or scarves to donate, she said she's also accepting donations to pay for the yarn. Every dollar can pay for more than two hats.
If you want more information about Orozco’s work or if you want to help, you can contact her on Facebook through her page, Lots of Knots, by clicking here.
