A nationwide network of hand-knitters have come together to make and donate small knitted angels to victims of the recent Texas floods.
Full-time healthcare worker, part-time knitter and Northlake resident Iesha Cogburn said she joined the cause because she wanted to help families of the victims have something tangible to remember their lost family member.
“We wanted to make these as a token of ‘hey, we see you and here is something,'” said Cogburn.
It’s something that she said has been at the center of her own knitting business, BGs Blankets and Co., and for many in the knitting community.
“It’s done out of a place of therapy,” said Cogburn. “It’s therapeutic to do it and it just blossomed. Now, it is a way to provide some thing tangible and therapeutic for those going through hard times.”
Cogburn joined the movement when she saw a post from Jehvah Williams, the owner of Chunky Knit Corner near Austin.
She announced a mission to send knitted angels to victims because “every stitch is a hug and every angel is a reminder that they’re not alone.”
The movement took off with more than 100 knitters across the nation committing to making angels and ship them to Williams, who reaches out to families in a non-intrusive way to offer them the angel.
“When she started it, it was from the heart, especially as a mom and seeing all those kids that were lost,” said Cogburn. “I don’t think she realized how hard it was going to be to actually figure out how to get it in their hands.”
The process has been made a bit easier now with a request form, which is often filled out by someone with a direct contact to someone affected by the floods.
Cogburn got into hand-knitting after her father was hospitalized for an extended period of time. She said her mom would stay at the hospital and crochet as a coping mechanism.
After trouble catching on to crocheting, she tried knitting and picked it up immediately.
It has become a side business to compliment her full-time job in healthcare, but she saw her opportunity to contribute to a good cause. Cogburn knows tragedies like this fade out of the spotlight, but believes the angels will be a way to continue to support the families.
“Everyone is there to support them right then and there,” she said. “But eventually something else happens and people start to move on, but not those families. This is a way to let them know they aren’t forgotten; we see you, we feel you and we are praying right alongside you.”
It follows Cogburn’s commitment to have a meaning behind everything she sells.
“Something I’ve made clear is that, with my blankets and everything, I pray over all of them before I send them out,” she said. “That was always part of my mission was to cover someone with prayer.”
The mother-of-one said the biggest takeaway from the experience has been a true feeling of hope.
“This has made me realize that there is still good in the world and there are still people willing to help a stranger,” she said. “It has really given me joy for my daughter’s future.”
