94-year-old woman crochets thousands of hats each year and donates them to those in need

Rose Valdez is proof that it's never too late to learn anything. The 94-year-old learned to crochet at the age of 90 and is churning out crochet hats by the bucketful so she can donate them to people who need them. She learned to make hats by herself and is now making at least one a day so she can help the community in Pueblo, Colorado. Valdez suffers from carpal tunnel, macular degeneration and glaucoma, but it doesn't stop her from crocheting beanies. Her hats are donated to various charity organizations, schools and hospitals, reported My Modern Met. “I don’t do nothing else, so I might as well do something for somebody,” said Valdez. “I make one a day or two. If I go steady, I make two in one day.” Shirley Homer, one of Rose’s daughters, believes she's easily made more than 2,000 beanies so far.

Due to glaucoma, Valdez has some issues with her vision but it doesn't deter her from crocheting. She starts crocheting when it's sunny, so there's enough natural light to help see the crochet holes better. She recently donated more than 100 wooly hats to the Pueblo Cooperative Care Center, which thanked her for her effort and kindness. “Thank you, Rose Valdez for the beautiful hats you crocheted,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “You are truly a blessing to our community.” 

People of Facebook had nothing but kind words for the elderly woman and her service to the community of Pueblo. "I can imagine the labor and hours she put into this, a heart of gold," wrote one user. Another user said they had the pleasure of meeting her. "It was wonderful to meet Mrs. Valdez at your building today. You all are doing an amazing job and you are truly making a difference in people's lives," she wrote. She also appeared to inspire many others. "I think what you are doing is amazing, and would like to do the same for a charity, maybe a cancer charity," wrote one user. Another user added, "Rose you are true to your name!! You are beautiful inside and out!! What a blessing you are to the people of Pueblo!! Thank You & God Bless You!!!" 

The image of Rose Valdez crocheting also went viral on Reddit, where someone from a shelter posted the image and titled it: "This woman brings a bag of hats to the shelter every year, which she crochets from January to December." One person highlighted the time, effort and money she put into the beanies. "This woman put a lot of time into those hats. She also put a lot of money too, yarn is not free. What a great person. The world needs more people like her," wrote one user. "A very nice thing to do either way. She looks very proud of herself and she most definitely should be," commented another person. Yet another user pointed out that there were many elderly people who spent their time contributing to the community through knitting or crocheting. They wrote, "You’ll be happy to know a lot of retired people also knit hats for cancer patients going through chemo/ radiation. We have a woman who provides an endless supply."