Michigan winters can be brutal, with temperatures dropping down to the teens. The colder months are especially challenging for the homeless population, struggling to keep warm. At least one person has found a way to help.
Morrie Boogart, a 91 year old Grandville resident, spends his days in hospice care knitting hats for the homeless. Morrie began knitting 15 years ago and, to date, has donated over 8000 hats. He says that helping others, “just makes me feel good.” Determined not to waste his precious time, he prefers to think of the needs of the less fortunate. Morrie produces a warm, new hat about every two days.
Morrie suffers from skin cancer and has a mass on his kidney, creating his need for hospice care. From the comfort of his bed, surrounded by boxes of hats to be donated to the local shelters and yarn to be knitted, he carefully moves the string around the pegs of his loom. A photo of his late wife Donna Mae sits to his left, watching on.
He has said that the only time he stops knitting is when he falls asleep.
The assisted living home where Morrie works his magic, Cambridge Manors in Grandville, Michigan, is accepting donations of yarn and hand-made hats.