KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Her roots may be in Hays, Kansas, but Teresa Boos is gifting Kansas City with handmade cold weather gear.
"It just was kind of fast and furious, and we just wanted to do something positive in the middle of so much heartache and heartbreak going on," Boos said.
While the COVID-19 pandemic kept people at home, Boos and her friends stayed tied together through yarn. The five of them have been crocheting hats and scarves for people in need.
"We can give hats and scarves of many kinds, but when something is handmade, I think it just sends such a deeper message and so that's my hope," Boos said.
The group has created over 300 items.
On Dec. 4, the hats and scarves were hung on the chain-link fence outside Operation Breakthrough's Ignition Lab, created by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
"When it came to deciding where to hang the hats and scarves, there was no doubt it was going to be Kansas City," Boos said.
Married to a life-long Chiefs fan, and on the hunt for a fence to hang the items, Boos said the Ignition Lab location was the perfect space.
Tied to the hats and scarves were a note from Boos and her friends, reminding people that they matter.
"I think it was a pretty cool thing. After we got all the hats and scarves hung, a gentleman rode by on his bike and was looking at all of them and he just paused and I said, 'Do you need a hat? Do you need a scarf? Please take one,'" Boos said. "He got off his bike, and he took a hat, and he asked if he could take one for one of his friends, and I said absolutely."
Boos said that giving back to the Kansas City community that saved her life gave her a warm feeling.
"In 2006, I had a stem cell transplant in Kansas City because I had leukemia, and so we had to live there for almost 100 days which was pretty tough," Boos said.
Boos told KSHB 41 News that she hopes to see more people join in and make the effort a yearly tradition.
"Wherever we live, wherever we are, there's always a way we can try to make a difference and that's what I hope happens," Boos said.
Boos also delivered over 100 items to the bone marrow transplant unit at the University of Kansas Health Systems.
