In honor of family members who lost their lives to cancer, Orange Beach resident Theresia Mullen crocheted 37 hats for a challenge to crochet and donate as many hats as you can during the month of October.

The Crochet Cancer Challenge, started by Christine Naugle, is held annually during the month of October. Throughout the month, crocheted hat patterns created by a team of volunteer designers are made available to the public for free in exchange for pledges to make and donate the hat to a local cancer center or directly to someone affected by cancer.

Mullen said she plans to take her hats to the Cancer Center in Huntsville as that is where her brother, sister-in-law and sister were treated.

After learning to crochet when she was 12, Mullen has been crocheting on and off throughout her life. Within the last five years she's focused more on projects and often looks at crocheting and knitting posts on Facebook.

She discovered the Crochet Cancer Challenge through one of these posts.

"I read the post and decided to sign up for emails so I would get daily reminders," she said. "This is my first time to participate in anything like this."

Naugle started the initiative in 2014 after losing her uncle to cancer.

For the first year of the program, she offered one of her patterns from her own shop for free in exchange for a pledge to donate.

"The response was overwhelming, and I received countless emails and comments from people sharing why the event was so meaningful to them personally," she said. "Reading those stories and feeling the collective love behind each pledge made it clear that this needed to become an annual event."

A total of 52,739 pledges were submitted by crocheters this year. In total, Naugle said approximately 492,000 hats have been pledged and donated through the crochet challenge.

"It has always been a tribute to a great man, and I feel grateful every year to see how many lives it continues to touch," Naugle said.

Interested in getting involved in the Crochet Cancer Challenge? Crocheters anywhere can visit www.sweetpotato3.com during the month of October to view the daily featured hat pattern and download the pattern with a pledge to donate. Once a hat is made, they can be donated to local cancer centers, hospitals, infusion centers, oncology offices or charity organizations that accept handmade hats.

Mullen recommended checking with organizations beforehand as some only accept hats made with specific brands of yarn.

For those who want to use this initiative to get into crocheting, don't panic. It's not a requirement to make a hat every day of the month and as Naugle says, "every hat makes a difference."

Mullen encouraged younger generations to learn "'the benefits' (and there are many) of being able to create something" and older generations to expand on any current knowledge and maybe learn something new about crocheting, knitting, tatting or sewing.

"Don't wait for a challenge, take or make the opportunity to learn and grow," she said.

Naugle also has a newsletter where she sends reminders about when the challenge begins each year. Sign up for the newsletter at www.subscribe page.com/sweetpotato3newsletter.

Wanting to crochet for a good cause all throughout the year? Naugle encourages people to continue working on hats and donating throughout the year.

"The Crochet Cancer Challenge is a beautiful reminder of how powerful handmade kindness can be," Naugle said. "Crochet isn't just a hobby – it's a way to connect, comfort and show love through something crafted with your own hands. I'm continually amazed by the generosity of the crochet community and grateful for everyone who participates, shares, donates or helps spread the word. Together, we're making a difference one hat at a time."

Mullen reminded, "don't be overwhelmed" with the project.

"I am retired, so I was pretty much able to complete a hat before the next pattern was released," Mullen said. "There are folks who are participating that are still working on their hats. Also, you don't have to do every hat, some folks just made multiples of the hats they were comfortable with."

She said there are other crochet, knitting and sewing initiatives that are operated in Baldwin County, such as Stitches for Christ, which is a group that crochets items to go in kits distributed on mission trips.

"This area has a lot of giving and talented individuals," she said.