HOOVER, AL (WIAT) — An elderly woman donates her time knitting comfort dolls for local children in crisis.
Roberta Warne told CBS 42 she first began knitting at age five when she was living in Southampton, England. Her first big project was knitting scarves with her mother for Russian soldiers fighting against Germany during World War 2.
Warne is now 84 and her passion for paying it forward hasn’t changed.
She began knitting dolls for children after her husband, Harold, passed away suddenly due to a brain aneurysm and she moved to Hoover to be closer to her three children.
“I thought to myself, that shock must be the same for children when they’re in a fire or somebody passes away,” Warne said. “It’s just so sad.”
Warne said she has donated the dolls to first responders in Hoover. The City of Hoover recently shared a Facebook photo of Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Etheredge holding one of the dolls.
“It brings peace and contentment to my heart,” Warne said.
The dolls’ clothing is removable and washable so that the children who receive them can enjoy them for years to come.
Warne’s generosity also extends to adults.
“Whenever I saw anybody out on the road, like workmen working and it was cold or something, if I had a couple of pairs of gloves in the car, I’d jump out and give them to the workmen,” Warne said.
Warne told CBS 42 she has previously knitted a couple hundred scarves for the Jimmie Hale Mission.