Distributing Heavenly Hats

Anthony Leanna, of Suamico, Wis., was only 8 years old when he first visited his ailing grandmother in the hospital. "I really loved my grandma, and I was afraid she’d die," says Anthony, whose grandmother, Darlene Chartier, had undergone surgery for breast cancer in 1999. "I was also afraid she’d lose her hair like the other cancer patients I saw in the hospital."

Although his grandmother didn’t lose her hair—she had radiation treatment rather than chemotherapy—Anthony couldn’t forget about all of the patients who did, especially the kids. "I decided I was going to collect hats for cancer patients to cheer them up," he says.

Anthony started on a small scale in the spring of 2001. With a little help from his mother, Dee, 39, and father, Glen, 44, he set out two plastic buckets to collect hats in front of stores in Suamico (pop. 9,724). "We were right behind him all the way," Dee says. "We thought it was great that he wanted to use his own time and energy to do this wonderful thing for others."

"After a couple of weeks, the buckets were full," says Anthony, now 14 and a freshman at Bay Port High School in Green Bay, Wis. "Then I contacted the hospital my grandma had been in, and others as well, and asked if they could use these brand new hats for cancer patients."

The response was so enthusiastic that Anthony kept his bucket collection going and looked for ways to expand his efforts. "I wanted to collect and distribute hats to people across the United States," he says. His solution was to form the nonprofit Heavenly Hats Foundation and set up a website to allow online visitors a place to offer donations or request hats.

One such visitor was Julie Wheeler, 41, a preschool teacher in San Carlos, Calif., who underwent treatment for breast cancer. Wheeler was thrilled when a box of five hats—all in pink, as she had asked for—arrived at her house less than a week later.

"I felt very loved and cared for by someone I don’t even know," Wheeler says. "I wear them all the time since I lost all my hair. Anthony even sent a sleeping cap to keep my head warm at night. He’s an angel who touches so many lives."

Thanks to donations from individuals and hat companies, Heavenly Hats has distributed more than 70,000 hats to cancer patients in about 200 hospitals across the nation.

Anthony’s mother Dee has long since left her job as an insurance agent to volunteer with the foundation, where she and her son put in 60 to 70 hours a week. "It’s a real commitment," Dee says. "We sort through every hat donated, seal them in plastic bags and pack the boxes for shipping."

With the help of five to 10 volunteers, Anthony and his mother ship about 2,000 hats a month from an 800-square-foot facility donated by a local company. Despite the high volume, the Leannas try to meet every special request, like a letter from a mother who wrote: "My little girl has lost her hair, and she could use a sun hat so she can go outside this summer." Of course, they provided her with summertime hats.

Anthony says that seeing all of the requests are what drives him to keep working. "Cancer patients need these hats, and we get hundreds of letters, calls and e-mails from people saying thanks and how much it means to them," says Anthony, who hopes to one day become a pediatric physiotherapist or pharmacist.

His grandmother Darlene, 69, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has been cancer-free for several years now and says she’s proud of Anthony. "We keep scrapbooks on him and Heavenly Hats," she says.

Anthony’s foundation has brought him a lot of public attention, such as appearances on the Today Show and Good Morning America, plus numerous awards. "He’s very humble about it all," his father Glen says. "He doesn’t really like the attention, but he does it for the benefit of Heavenly Hats. We’re really proud of him and what he’s doing."

Visit www.heavenlyhats.com or call (920) 434-4151, ext. 1400, to learn more.

Kathleen Conroy is a freelance writer in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

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