Grand Forks AFB community crochets for a cause

  • Published
  • By 319th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs
  • 319th Reconnaissance Wing public affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  

Winters in the northern tier are anecdotally considered some of the harshest in the country, and populations in this area require diligent effort to remain connected and resilient through the season.

The 319th Reconnaissance Wing’s Integrated Resilience Office conducts primary prevention efforts all year but puts a focus on fostering social connection in the winter months through their resilience program.

“The Air Force Resilience Program supports primary prevention by shifting the focus from responding to incidents to reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors,” said Kelly Painter, integrated prevention coordinator for the 319th RW IRO. “This is accomplished by bringing the 8 resilience skills to life through messaging campaigns and fun team-building activities. From testing your limits at the chin-up challenge to connecting at our annual soup supper, we’re bringing airmen together."

Nested within the IRO’s resilience program are Master Resilience Trainers and Resilience Training Assistants. These volunteers are airmen, Dept. of War civilians and dependents who receive specialized training in all domains of resilience and champion efforts to improve unit cohesion, command climate and foster connection across the installation.

“Being an MRT in the resilience program is really two-fold, we facilitate a resilience skill set airmen can use to navigate the hardships of military life and adult life in general, but we also look for ways to branch out and connect members of the base community,” said Senior Master Sgt. BreeAnn Sachs, MRT for the 319th RW. “In the winter here it’s easy to be a hermit, stay indoors and keep to yourself – of which I’ve done in the past. As an MRT, and just as a member of the base community, I’m always looking for a way to try and help keep the culture here positive and uplifting.”

As part of the resilience program’s connection focus this winter, Sachs and Painter organized a weekly crochet group originally scheduled to meet each Saturday in January. The group gathered to make hats in support of the IRO’s violence prevention efforts, specifically to raise awareness of the Period of Purple Crying for National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

“The idea for the group was to offer a reason for people to get out of their homes, gather and possibly learn a new skill or use an existing skill in an altruistic way,” said Sachs. “It ended up being a lot more popular than I anticipated; now we are in May, and the group still gathers every Saturday and now on Sundays. The last few months have been intense for a lot of people, and this group really offered a way to break away from that stress.”

The group has produced more than 60 purple crocheted infant hats to be given to parents of children at the Child Development Center on base as well as new parents who deliver at Altru hospital in Grand Forks.

“This activity has transformed into a dedicated team of volunteers with big hearts and skilled hands,” said Painter. “I was blown away by how many creative and talented crocheters were willing to come together for this effort.  I am even more blown away they are committed to sustaining the purple hat project throughout the year!”

The Period of Purple Crying is an evidence-based program designed to help parents and caregivers understand that persistent, inconsolable crying in infants is a normal stage of development.  This program is one of the primary prevention efforts of the IRO that was integrated into the Child Development Center curriculum. 

The PURPLE acronym is used to describe six common characteristics of an infant’s first phase of life. The word Period is a reminder that this phase of life is temporary.  The purple hat is a visual reminder of infant safety and primary prevention. 

“Their craft of making the purple hats maintains year-round visibility for the message, ‘keeping all children safe is a shared, community-wide responsibility.’” said Painter. “I want to personally thank all of them for their hard work and commitment to this effort.”

Those interested in joining can attend the crochet group’s gatherings every Saturday at 10 a.m. in the base Library and every Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Sunflower Chapel basement.