Little Hats, Big Hearts made a splash this February with babies in 52 hospitals across the state going red. The American Heart Association and the Children’s Heart Foundation teamed up this year to spread the message of congenital heart defects (CHD), the most common type of birth defect in the country. Early detection and support is critical for families facing the realities of CHD.
Providing hope and encouragement to new parents, talented volunteers from high school to retirement hand-crafted beautiful red hats, each one as unique as the babies that will wear them. Together, we are raising awareness of heart disease and congenital heart defects by celebrating our littlest survivors.
2018 was a record breaking year in North Carolina! More than 1,200 knitters, church groups, knitting groups, companies, retirement/senior centers, and school groups donated over 14,000 hats in North Carolina. The generous support of North Carolinians allowed us to provide hats to hospitals for the entire month of February this year!
In Charlotte, Vannoy Construction sponsored the Little Hats, Big Hearts program. Vannoy also had staff who knitted and crocheted 195 hats for their local hospitals. Thank you Vannoy Construction!

Chatham County Council on Aging and the Twin Rivers Independent Senior Living Community Drop Off Little Red Hats
In the Triangle, the Durham Police Department participated in Little Hats, Big Hearts as their holiday giving project. The District 2B squad collected yarn to knit and donate 120 hats to Duke University Hospital and to Duke Regional Hospital.
See some additional coverage of the Little Hats, Big Hearts program from across the state here and here.
For more information about Little Hats, Big Hearts contact Kacie Kennedy at Kacie.Kennedy@heart.org.
2018 Participating North Carolina Hospitals
Alamance Regional Medical Center
Ashe Memorial Hospital
Caldwell UNC Hospital
Cape Fear Valley Health System
CarolinaEast Medical Center
CaroMont Regional Medical Center
Catawba Valley Medical Center
Columbus Regional Healthcare
Cone Health Women’s Center
Duke Regional Hospital
Duke University Hospital
FirstHealth Moore Regional
Frye Regional Medical Center
Halifax Regional Hospital
Harris Regional Hospital
Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital
Iredell Memorial Hospital
Lake Norman Regional Medical Center
Maria Parham Health
Martin General Hospital
Mission Hospital
McDowell Hospital
Murphy Medical Center
New Hanover Regional Medical Center
Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center
Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center
Novant Health Huntersville
Novant Health Matthews
Novant Health Presbyterian Hospital
Novant Health Rowan
Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center
Onslow Memorial Hospital
Pardee UNC Health Care
Randolph Health
Rutherford Regional
Scotland Health Care System
The Outer Banks Hospital
UNC Lenoir Healthcare
UNC Medical Center
UNC Nash Health Care
UNC Rex
Vidant Beaufort Hospital
Vidant Chowan Hospital
Vidant Duplin Hospital
Vidant Edgecombe Hospital
Vidant Medical Center
Wake Forest Baptist Health – Wilkes Medical Center
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
WakeMed Health & Hospitals – Cary
WakeMed Health & Hospitals – Raleigh Campus
Wayne UNC Healthcare
Wilson Medical Center
Our mission is to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. For nearly 100 years, we’ve been fighting heart disease and stroke, striving to save and improve lives. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer worldwide, and stroke ranks second globally. Even when those conditions don’t result in death, they cause disability and diminish quality of life. We want to see a world free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.