Ellie’s Hats – Our September Community Outreach Partner

Just last September we reported on Ellie’s Hats’ amazing milestone of a total donation package of $100,000 through a partnership with Pediatric Specialists of Virginia (PSV) to donate $1,000 a month to five local families in need of financial support. Well, they didn’t stop there! As of June 16, 2021, the group reported delivering 160 $1,000 checks to local families working through PSV Clinic and Scharr Cancer Institute Social Workers.

Also by mid-June 2021, the group reported having sent more than 1,900 packages to children across the country. Ellie’s Hats packages are large canvas totes containing a hat for the cancer patient and his or her siblings, a T-shirt and other items to help and support patients and their families. Ellie’s Hats also provides Hero Bags to Inova Children’s Hospital for new admitted pediatric cancer patients. The Hero Bag contains items helpful for a family who has a child admitted to the hospital.

Friday September 17, 2021 the annual Ellie’s Hats Open will take place at South Riding Golf Course from 7:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and the event includes breakfast and lunch. Registration is now closed, but be sure to keep up with Ellie’s Hats other great events posted on their website!

Ellie’s Hats was founded as a 501 (c)(3) in 2014 after Ellie started kindergarten at the Woodburn Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia. Ellie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in spring 2013. By the time she entered kindergarten she had lost most of her hair and was always wearing hats to school. Her teacher, Jay Coakley noticed her fun and cheerful looking hats and he organized a hat drive to provide her with a broader selection of hats to wear. Please check out their website for other ideas on how you can help in addition to donating and share this story to spread the word! We are honored to be donating $1 from every haircut this September to this amazing local non-profit!