Tina Hutcherson has been a school bus driver for the Putnam City School District in Oklahoma for over a decade. And at 63, she’s been a knitter and crocheter for over 50 years.
A mom of four of her own children, Hutcherson said she has knitted or crocheted since she was about 12. For a recent birthday, her daughter gifted her a new knitting machine, and it has made it even easier for her to churn out cozy items like hats and scarves.
So easy, in fact, she realized she could keep all of her students warm this winter.
With her new machine, she told KOCO News 5, it takes about 30 minutes to make a winter hat.
“I said, oh Lord, I’m gonna make every one of them babies on the bus a hat,” she said.
“I just don’t want nobody to be without, especially when they're riding with me.”
In total, Hutcherson drives around 100 students to school every day, from elementary to high school age. So far, she has knit and distributed 25 hats to elementary schoolers, who then returned with hand-written thank-you notes for their beloved bus driver.
Plus, she lets the students pick what colors they want — and she also makes the hats reversible.
She has no intention to slow down.
“I got enough yarn to make any hats I wanna make, and colors,” Hutcherson said. “I’ve been stocking up since I was 12. So if these kids need a hat, coat, I like making ponchos for them, I don’t care, they're gonna get it.”
According to Nonprofit Quarterly, an estimated two out of every five children in the United States are clothing-insecure. This means they don’t have access to adequate, appropriate, or affordable clothing. For some, this means they might go without cold-weather coats and accessories, or wear clothes that simply don’t fit.
Hutcherson’s goal is to keep her students warm in the winter, yes, but most importantly, to keep them feeling cared for.
“I just hope they take away that somebody loves 'em, and that’s all,” she said.
“And if they don’t have any love at home, they gonna get on this bus in the morning … they always know they can always talk to me about anything. I want them to be safe.”
Hutcherson has been posting her creations to Facebook, including some other hats she’s made for coworkers and community members. But the project for her “bus babies” seems to be one she’s especially proud of.
“I’m so happy with my knitting machine for helping me with this project for my good babies on my morning route. I’m hoping they will use them and keep their heads warm for winter,” she wrote in a post.
“I’m praying for all the [families] that are having hard times these days,” she added in another post. “Love is in the air.”
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Header image courtesy of Putnam City Schools
