Volunteer Spotlight: Genevieve Buckholz

The first thing Genevieve Buckholz ever knitted was a snow suit for her doll. Genevieve, who now lives at BRC in Hearthstone Manor, was in the sixth grade at the time. She was taught to knit by a woman who lived across the alley from her childhood home in Washington D.C.

It sparked a lifelong passion that she pursued off and on throughout the years. She’s knitted sweaters for all her children and even full outfits for herself.

When she and her husband Harold moved to BRC in 2011, she donated most of her knitting supplies to the Bridgewater Village Residents Association Yard Sale (now the Village Barn). But she kept a small bag of supplies in storage just in case the bug happened to bite again. When it did, she had just enough material left over to get started on a new project.

That project has evolved into quite an operation! Now, she spends her days knitting newborn caps—six or seven a week—that she donates to adorn the infants born at Sentara RMH Medical Center in Harrisonburg. She knits two sizes (full-term and pre-term) in an array of colors, each lovingly handcrafted.

And she’s not alone in this effort. Other residents contribute to the cause by donating yarn and helping to make sure the caps find their way to the hospital.

“I’ve been told the nurses just love to give them out,” Genevieve says.

“It’s hard to believe they need that many at the hospital. But apparently, they do, because they continue to holler, ‘Bring ‘em on!’” adds her husband Harold.

Of course, she’s also got a cap stowed away for her own great-grandchild, who’s on the way this July.