Sheri Schrier
Torrance, California
How is your Hero working to make the world a better place?
After the loss of four family members to cancer Sheri Schrier observed the horrendous pain and emotional trauma they experienced from chemotherapy. She decided she wanted to help bring back smiles to hospitalized children with cancer. A hat designer by profession, Sheri designed whimsical fun hats for 100 kids with cancer. It was an immediate success. In 1991 she started the non-profit organization, Happy Hats for Kids. Soon she and her husband wrote an educational story/activity/coloring book filled with jokes, loving messages and stimulating activities. The book explains, with colorful illustrations, hospital procedures in a gentle and humorous manner to help lessen the children’s fears. The hats and books are given free of charge.
Sheri reached out to volunteer inmates in prisons to sew thousands of Happy Hats and local groups of autistic teens, developmentally disabled adults, senior citizens and students in her local community. They were all excited to participate in this heart-touching project.Sheri organized Mitzvah Day hat decorating workshops in synagogues and the South Bay Jewish Federation. These hats were personally given to hospitalized children in Israel by Rabbis and congregants. Sheri saw another need to uplift the spirits of hospitalized children who were unable to enjoy holidays, including Passover and Chanukah, in the warmth of their homes. This collection of holiday themed Happy Hats cause an eruption of smiles and giggles throughout the hospital halls. Sheri’s passion has made it possible for 750,000+ hospitalized children and families to smile and is working on the next million!
How has your Hero impacted your life and inspired you?
Watching Sheri on a daily basis inspires me to want to be much more involved in my community. Sheri gives tirelessly of herself to help comfort sick children. This has impacted me and made me want to be a better person and give more of my time in helping children with cancer and other diseases.