When the pandemic hit, 14-year-old Colby Tufford found herself with lots of free time on her hand and a desire to help her community.
Sitting at home, Tufford picked up some of her mom’s old knitting books and watched some tutorials online to learn how to knit and kicked off a new business selling handmade toques.
Knowing there’s a need for warm clothes in the community for those battling homelessness, she decided to donate a toque for every toque she sells.
“I wanted to give back to the community in a way that I knew how and to use my skills to help people,” said Tufford.
“When I first started out, it took out about two and a half hours a hat to three hours, but now I've gotten pretty fast and it takes about an hour and a half.”
So far, she’s sold over 57 hats and donated the equal amount to Royal City Mission and The Guelph Shoebox Project.
Selling each hat for $20 covers the cost of two balls of yarn and Tufford a little bit of profit for the two styles of hats she makes, slouchy, or fitted with a pom pom.
“It makes me feel really cool. I’m pretty happy,” said Tufford.
She said knitting has really helped her get through the pandemic by keeping her calm.
“It gives me something to look forward to and to keep my mind on instead of sitting there worrying ‘oh there’s a pandemic going on,’ I can be like ‘I have five hats to knit today,’” said Tufford.
Tufford’s mother, Pam Weinberger said her daughter used her time wisely after she was unable to play sports during the pandemic. She said her daughter has always been a little entrepreneur who had a humanitarian drive in her.
“So we were really proud of her. It was a good little fit for interests,” said Weinberger.
Those who want to purchase a toque can order one here.
