Wrapping Generosity: A Grandmother's Gift to Lyons Farm Students

Susan Colquitt lives more than 1,800 miles from South Durham in Las Cruces, New Mexico. But the retired educator managed to brighten the holiday season for every student at Lyons Farm Elementary School this week.

The school held “Scarf Day” on Dec. 12, distributing 505 hand-crocheted scarves, letters celebrating students, and special pencils and erasers – all made possible because Colquitt wanted to do something nice for the school her twin granddaughters Caroline and Kennedy attend. They started at Lyons Farm as kindergarteners last year, part of the school’s inaugural class.

“Throughout their lives, they have watched me crochet scarves for various recipient schools, while being on the receiving end of a multitude of baby blankets, headbands, and scarves,” Colquitt said. “I know, I know. It’s a grandma thing!”

She’s been making scarves for schools for about 10 years with her “Play It Forward!” project, but aimed to challenge herself this year “with some added tenacity and less-than-nimble fingers.”

It didn’t happen with just her hands, though. She also credits generous financial sponsorships from relatives, friends, professional colleagues, and even former students.

The letter celebrating students said, in part:

“I think you are a treasure! This is why I wanted to do something different for Christmas this year. I wanted to do something special. As a surprise, I wanted to ‘Play it Forward’, which means doing something nice for other people…because it is just a nice thing to do. I wanted to CELEBRATE you awesome, amazing, and extraordinary students! To that end, I created a plan and got to work. So, to ‘Play it Forward’, I have crocheted the scarves that each of you have received today in your gift bag. Each scarf has a different design, color, shape, or size. Plus, some scarves might have a few flaws or mistakes, because my goofy dog, Chloe, and my mischievous cat, Kirby, tried to help me. Ha! Ha! Silly pets!”

Colquitt hopes that this event becomes an indelible memory for her granddaughters as they continue their educational journey at Lyons Farm.

It certainly struck a chord with adults who read about Colquitt in a Durham Public Schools post on Facebook.

• “Wow!” wrote Shannon Mohr Thornburg. “My hands hurt just thinking of this. What an amazing gift!”
• “What a GREAT memory you’re creating!” wrote Melody Kite Henderson.
• “We loved this!” commented Amanda Leigh. “The kids were so excited!”

And this is just a small sampling of the dozens of comments praising Colquitt’s effort.

“Remarkably, I have been stunned by the outpouring of kind comments and heart-warming anecdotes from students, their parents, and the Lyons Farm faculty and staff,” she said. “Oh, my goodness! I just wasn’t expecting such a loving response.”

It took Colquitt a little more than a year to crochet 505 scarves for the students in Durham.

Now, she’s making scarves for the local unhoused population in New Mexico.

“There’s something quite haunting seeing vulnerable individuals smile with gratitude and eyes glimmer with hope as they receive a care package with a warm scarf, basic hygiene supplies, and modest snacks,” Colquitt said. “I wish I could do more.”

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