The idea for a new club at SPFHS was first sparked by junior Natasha Vega’s newfound love for knitting.

In the midst of quarantine, Vega took up knitting simply as a hobby to learn something new and to pass the time. When she found knitting hats to be much easier than she had anticipated, she wanted to use her passion to help others in her community in a new and unique way.

Just a few months ago, Vega took her idea to biology teacher Lauren DeNicola, who happily agreed to be the club’s advisor. Now, Vega and many other students are helping to bring happiness through the hats they make in their new club, Threads of Love.

“We’re making something and we’re making it out of love…we’re doing an act of service to our community,” Vega said.

Every Tuesday after school in room 128, Vega and the other members work on knitting hats for various causes, including both homeless shelters and local hospitals.

Vega, along with the more experienced students, helps teach the newer members how to go about the many parts of knitting a hat, including different patterns or styles. At every meeting, the members work towards making as many hats as they can in different sizes that are then donated to people experiencing times of hardship.

“I’m really passionate about bringing some positivity into people’s lives who might be going through a rough time or who don’t have access to, especially in the cold winter, something warm and cozy,” DeNicola said.

Once the knitting process of the hat is complete, they are put in little bags that are donated to a lot of different people in need. Recently, Vega thought of an idea to add a note along with the handmade hat for the people who are receiving them to know the club’s mission to spread love around different communities.

Currently, Threads of Love is working on knitting as many hats as they can in the colors of blue and yellow to donate to the people of Ukraine to show both their love and support.

In the coming months, Threads of Love hopes to expand in the different places where they can donate the hats that they make. They hope to expand their abilities by making different items apart from hats that can also be donated to different groups of people.

“I think it’s a really positive message that we can make a change in our communities and people’s lives in really simple ways…You can take what you love to do, what you’re passionate about and make change for other people too,” DeNicola said.