AEDC team member invites others to help crochet items for area veterans

  • Published
  • By Deidre Ortiz
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  AEDC team member Tracy Carter is leading a service project crocheting beanies for veterans at the Alvin C. York Campus of the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System in Murfreesboro.

Carter, a management and program assistant for the Test Systems Sustainment Division at Arnold Air Force Base, said she enjoys supporting area veterans and has been part of the VA Picnic Committee since she started her position at Arnold.

“We try to make every year a meaningful experience for the veterans,” she said. “Last year we made them name tags displaying the emblem of their military branch. Branch and service pride never goes away, and it allows them to easily connect with other local veterans attending the picnic. That’s where I got the idea for the beanies.”

With her idea in mind, Carter then needed to know how many beanies would be needed.

“I reached out to the Tennessee Veterans Services Murfreesboro Campus and spoke to Annette Allen in Geriatrics and Extended Care with the VA hospital and Tracy Marsteller with the Veteran’s Home,” she said. “They were very helpful and excited to see the results. My hope is that we will have a hat for each long-term care patient and resident of the home.”

Carter, who has been crocheting since she was a teenager, is making the beanies in colors associated with each veteran’s military branch.
“We thought these hats would keep the veterans warm and also allow them to proudly display their branch,” she said, showing cap she finished featuring her U.S. Army colors.

The beanies will be distributed at the Military Appreciation Picnic at the Arnold Lakeside Center in October.

With 140 residents at the VA hospital alone, Carter invites anyone who crochets or knits to join in the cause.

“It’s a really easy crochet pattern with only two basic stitches,” she said. “I’m working to convert it to a knit pattern so either type of beanie will have the same look.”

If interested in crocheting or knitting beanies for the veterans or volunteering in another way, call 931-454-7253.