In 2020, looking for a creative outlet and a way to make a difference, high school students Aditi Bang, Sonika Tatipalli, and Rasagna Vuppala formed the Georgia chapter of the Madhatter Knits. Five years later, the chapter co-founders are Tech students, and the club is a Georgia Tech student organization that has donated more than 5,000 handmade hats for premature babies in Georgia hospitals.  

Premature babies often struggle to regulate their body temperature — a goal they must meet before being discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Because heat escapes through exposed skin, the baby’s head can be a site of significant heat loss. So, the hats knitted by the club at Georgia Tech provide both a functional benefit and a sense of comfort.  

“We know that heat is lost from the head and that our hats provide that physical comfort, but even more than that, we want the hats to help these families understand that, even beyond this hospital system and the doctors and nurses working 24/7 to provide the care they need, there are people out there who care for them,” Bang said.  

Madhatter Knits typically hosts three monthly events, during which members and newcomers can knit hats that will end up in Georgia NICUs.

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