Woman Helps Homeless One Knit Hat at a Time

Betty King, a Columbia area resident, is using her love for knitting to help keep the homeless warm during the cold winter months. 

Earlier this year, King set a goal for herself — to complete 100 hats by the end of November. 

Completing that goal would be a tough task since King has been diagnosed with esophageal gastric junction cancer, which is cancer of the area where the esophagus joins the stomach.

With the help of King's granddaughter, Wendy Graham, and some busy hands from across the United States and in other countries, King will be able to give more than 300 hats to her church Grace United Methodist to be distributed at a local shelter. 

To help her grandmother, Graham went on the Internet and asked knitters in the online community to help in her effort to meet the goal. 

Soon hats were coming from all over, helping King to pass her goal. 

Sandra Love, a member of King's church, describes the avid knitter as having a quiet demeanor and very active behind the scenes.

"She's just a giving person," Love said. 

Since 85-year-old King joined the church four years ago after moving to the area from Hilton Head, Love said she has been busy creating hats and shawls for those in the community and beyond. 

When the prayer shawl ministry was introduced, King led the way in creating the shawls.  

Love said King is so determined and committed that even during her hospital stay and move to being under hospice care at home, she continued to work on the hats. 

King’s daughter-in-law Susan King agrees that King is always willing to knit for someone despite her health.

“She was always first in line to donate,” said Susan. “She’s just a loving and giving individual.”

Susan said before the hats could be delivered to the church, King had to look and touch every one of them.

"It’s a labor of love in her eyes," she said. "It’s in her blood."

Since moving to the area four years ago, Susan said her mother-in-law has knitted between 200 to 300 hats.

A "Blessing of the Hats" ceremony will be held today during the Grace United Methodist's 11 a.m. service. A member of the church's homeless ministry will deliver the hats to a local shelter.