Adelphi Community Donates 180 Baby Hats to NICU Infants in Nepal and Guyana

To kick off the holiday season, Adelphi University’s Graduate Student Council (GSC) and Student Government Association (SGA) set a goal to collect and donate 100 baby hats for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of two underserved hospitals in Nepal and Guyana. In just a few short weeks, they exceeded their goal, sewing and collecting more than 180 hats and dozens of other clothing items.

The idea to create the 100 Baby Hats initiative came from Maria-Pilar Martin, M.D., Adelphi assistant professor and director of the Master of Public Health program, who devotes time to volunteering in underserved communities around the world through her nonprofit organization, International Health Connection (IHC). Dr. Martin reached out to her students seeking volunteers to sew, knit or collect baby hats and other gently used clothing for babies in need. Natalie Madray, president of Adelphi’s GSC, and Manjusha Gopi, GSC programs and activities representative, answered the call to action, joining forces with the SGA to get a plan in motion.

Achieving the goal of collecting more than 100 baby hats was a collaborative effort by the entire Adelphi community and beyond. Adelphi’s GSC and SGA hosted two sewing parties on campus, instructed by Della Hudson, associate dean of student affairs, and Terry Woods, administrative assistant in the anthropology department. Adelphi students, as well as students from H. Frank Carey High School, came to lend a hand. Christine Feeley, Ph.D., senior adjunct professor of psychology, and her church group, the Creative Crocheting Guild of Long Island, knitted 45 baby hats for the cause.

Additionally, two collection boxes were stationed in Adelphi’s Nexus Building to garner donations from the campus community. By the deadline on November 30, each box was filled with a mix of new and gently used baby clothing.

“It was a truly humbling experience to see graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff and members of the local community come together for such a rewarding cause,” Madray said. “The success of the drive is due to Panther pride that Adelphi helps to cultivate in each of us.”

The clothing items will be donated through the International Health Connection to hospitals and organizations including the International Children’s Heart Foundation, benefiting the Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana, and the Public Health Concern Trust, benefiting Kirtipur Hospital in Nepal.