Kassandra is a 15-year-old high school student with a heart as big as her talent. She creates beautiful crochet animals for the children who receive therapy services from Boys Town South Florda’s Behavioral Health Clinic (BHC).
It all started when Kassandra created a crochet pumpkin as a gift to her mom, Dr. Diane Kelly Andreou, the Director of the Behavioral Health Clinic. Dr. Diane placed the crochet pumpkin in her office, and often, when she had a therapy session with little ones, many would gravitate towards the crochet pumpkin to touch and hold it. The soft, handmade object seemed to ease the children’s and teens’ anxiety, helping their busy hands to find comfort while they shared their feelings, emotions and challenges during therapy. When Kassandra heard about this from her mom, a light bulb went off. She figured she could do some good through her hobby of making crochet comforting animals for the kids to play with during the therapy sessions.
In the photo, she has fish, turtles and dinosaurs of different colors. From the beginning, she aimed to create five patterns with ten types of each. Three patterns, aka animals, were made, and there are two more to go! “These weren’t just toys; they were tools for healing,” said Bethany Lacey, Executive Director at Boys Town South Florida. Dr. Diane and her peer psychologists were excited to see what other animals would be created by Kassandra for the children to hold and feel comforted.
Kassandra’s crocheting efforts to provide some manipulatives for the children who BHC serves are directly connected to her personal project, which involves learning a new skill that also provides a benefit to a community. She is currently a member of the crocheting club at her high school, where she teaches others who are new to crocheting. Kassandra’s hobby blossomed into helping others, which is a big win-win!
When asked what words of encouragement she would like to share with other teens her age. She said, “Find a creative outlet that can relieve your stress and give you a break from school. Always try to keep yourself busy with new projects.”
