KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hooks, yarn and patterns are what you'll find inside Park Hill High School's yarn club — a club that's quickly grown at the school.
"We thought, sure we can scrape together five kids and join us and now we've become the fastest growing club on campus," yarn club supervisor Stephanieauna Steward said.
It was an idea started by high school junior Cadence Gangle.
"It originally started in AP seminar classroom," Gangle said. "Me and a friend were really just talking about how we could do a craft, really just any craft. We're also in conservation club so, she said what can we do with recycling bins; we can make little jackets for them. It was a joke but we were like, 'Wait are you serious? What if we learned how to crochet or like knit?' I was like, 'What if we start a club, like what if we do this?' And I was very serious about it."
The idea quickly became a reality, and after Ashley Hendrickson and Stephanieauna Steward became advisors, the club was formed.
"It originally started every other Tuesday," Gangle said. "And it was packed on the first day and it was awesome."
Now, the club meets on a weekly basis. Many students didn't know each other.
"I probably didn’t know over two-thirds of the people in this room beforehand and now I am friends with all of them," Gangle said. "It’s like a little family."
"We have kids from so many different groups and different aspects that would probably never come together and talk with each other," Steward said. "We've got band kids, we've got athletic kids. We've got all kinds of kids coming together."
Recently, the club decided to create a personal gift for a Park Hill staff member.
Bob is a beloved campus supervisor.
"Every morning he says good morning, he knows everyone, and to be able to do something for him like that is crazy," Gangle said. "It’s amazing. It’s a really good feeling."
Bob is battling cancer and is currently going through chemotherapy treatments.
"Our kids got together and all made individual squares and we were hoping to have a nice blanket we could give him as a chemo blanket," Steward said. "But what we ended up with will cover a queen-size bed."
"We had everybody making squares, and I was like, this is big. This is really cool," Gangle said. "Everybody loves him."
In the center of the blanket is a square that says "PHHS loves Bob."
"We actually were able to present it to him for our first in-person assembly in three years," Steward said. "I can tell you it was really hard to keep it together. It was amazing. It warmed my heart learning an art that has been lost over the years, I feel, and seeing all these kids from all these different groups come together for one reason and one cause and for one man who is just awesome in the school, it was fantastic."
Gangle says Bob does so much for the school and the students, and they wanted to make sure he had something personal from them.
For a look at the yarn club's latest work, visit its Instagram.
