Lion Brand Yarn Company Inundated With Donated Hats for its Hat Not Hate Anti-Bullying Campaign

CARLSTATD, N.J., Sept. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- It started with a trickle. Seven lovingly hand-made hats were delivered to Lion Brand Yarn Company's warehouse in Carlstadt, New Jersey a few days after the company launched a campaign to demonstrate its support of anti-bullying called Hat Not Hate. A few weeks later, boxes of donated hand-made hats started arriving from all over the world, from as far away as Benghazi, Libya. As the days passed, the trickle became an avalanche.

Lion Brand Yarn Company asked its community, through social media and email, to use their knit and crochet skills to help bring awareness to the devastating problem of bullying by making blue hats to wear in October, the official anti-bullying awareness month. The campaign's hashtag on social media is #HatNotHate.

Lion Brand also asked for donations of hand-made hats to outfit one school of 1,500 students in New Rochelle, New York so the entire school could demonstrate their support of the cause on October 1, which is World Day of Bullying Prevention™, an initiative of STOMP Out Bullying.

Within a few weeks, the boxes started being delivered in larger and larger quantities. A few days after the first seven hats came 22, then 50, and soon the boxes of hats had to be delivered in large mail carts at a rate of hundreds in a day. Some boxes contained one handmade hat wrapped in tissue paper with a personal note, and some contained as many as 60 hats contributed by a guild or religious group who worked together on the project. As of today, the company has received well over 2,500 hats.

Many personal notes accompanied the donated hats saying why supporting the Hat Not Hate cause meant so much to the person who made the hat.

About Lion Brand Yarn Company
Founded in New York City, Lion Brand Yarn Company is a fifth generation family-owned and operated business, "Famous for Quality Since 1878," devoted to inspiring and educating knitters and crocheters with yarns, patterns, how-tos, and ideas that elevate their yarn crafting experience. Year after year Lion Brand drives innovation in the yarn business, and pursues excellence in their products.

About STOMP Out Bullying™
Created in 2005, STOMP Out Bullying™ is the leading national nonprofit dedicated to changing the culture for all students. It works to reduce and prevent bullying, cyberbullying, and other digital abuse, educates against homophobia, LGBTQ discrimination, racism and hatred, and deters violence in schools, online, and in communities across the country. In this diverse world, STOMP Out Bullying™ promotes civility, inclusion, and equality. It teaches effective solutions on how to respond to all forms of bullying, as well as educating kids and teens in schools and online. It provides help for those in need and at risk of suicide, and raises awareness through peer mentoring programs in schools, public service announcements by noted celebrities, and social media campaigns.

SOURCE Lion Brand Yarn Company