CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — A Cleveland County teen is hoping to provide comfort to some babies through an unlikely source: Crocheting.
Mindy Jae Brown, a rising senior at Burns High School in Lawndale, North Carolina, started a project this summer to crochet jellyfish for babies with long-term stays at the hospital or in area NICUs.
“The tentacles remind the babies of the umbilical cord in their mother’s stomach, and it helps calm them,” Brown explained. “And it’s like a de-stressor for them.”
Brown said a doctor suggested the idea after noticing Brown’s crochet skills.
The 17-year-old taught herself how to crochet during the pandemic by watching YouTube videos.
“I got a little kit off of Amazon and started there, and I just kind of grew,” Brown said. “It was supposed to be just like personal stuff, but then I ended up liking it so much that I made it a little small business.”
Her business is called Old Soul Creations. She shows off many of her creations on her Facebook page, showcasing the flowers, dog toys, baby blankets, and more that she can make.
“I like that it’s different,” Brown said. “You don’t really see a lot of people, especially like younger people, do it and most of the time when people talk about it they’re like, ‘You crochet?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ And it’s just something different that people like aren’t really used to seeing.”
Brown said her crocheting turned into a small side hustle that helped pay for gas or eating out with friends, but when she saw the opportunity to use her talent to help babies in need, she put all her efforts toward making as many crochet jellyfish as she could this summer.
Brown posted on her Facebook page asking for sponsors to cover the cost of the materials for the jellyfish. She said she received donations from 52 people and went to work making 52 jellyfish in a week.
Each jellyfish is made with a soft, baby yarn and takes Brown about 45 minutes to an hour to make.
So far, she’s donated 12 jellyfish to Atrium Health Cleveland for babies with longer stays, and 12 to the NICU at Gaston Memorial Hospital. She’s planning for the rest to go to Levine Children’s Hospital.
“I would have never thought that I would be able to do something like this and like help 52 babies, like, that is amazing,” Brown said.
Contact Kendall Morris at kmorris2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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