94-year-old Denver woman continues tradition of knitting hundreds of hats for local students

Even if Mother nature forgot to deliver a winter in Denver this year, a kind lady in town has continued her tradition of making sure students are warm.

For more than a decade, 94-year-old Denver resident Cherie Eickstaedt has been knitting hundreds of colorful winter hats each year for students in Denver Public Schools.

She learned to knit nearly 20 years ago while recovering from surgery and eventually turned the hobby into a mission to help children, producing as many as 700 hats annually at her peak.

Despite surviving cancer twice and experiencing a stroke last December, she continues to knit one to two hats per day and donates every hat to local schools. The hats are distributed to students each year, where they quickly become popular items and a symbol of community kindness.