LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — It started with a cut and a twist, and it finished with a fold.
Kabir Singh, a New York resident and founder of Caring Connections USA, was joined by family and students from Hempfield High School for a blanket-making event on Saturday.
It was June 2023 when a then-13-year-old Singh founded the nonprofit that supports the families of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit.
It’s a cause that's personal to Singh.
“When I was younger, I had surgery," Singh Said. "Obviously, I don’t remember anything from that time because I was so young, but my parents told me how much it affected them. That’s when I realized there’s actually so many other families who feel the same way my parents did when they were younger.”
The nonprofit has also hosted card drives, book drives and NICU hat graduations.
“A lot of the parents have to stay for many weeks at the hospital, so we want to make them feel more comfortable with these bright-colored blankets,” said Pareesa Singh, Kabir’s sister.
The nonprofit has donated more than 200 blankets to families across the country.
“Over the past year or two, he mentioned that he really wanted to formalize helping the kids, and we were delighted and wanted to support him in his endeavor,” said Jasmine Singh, Kabir’s mother.
Kabir’s family’s service to Lancaster County goes back even further.
His grandmother, Manjeet Kaur, is a retired neonatologist who worked for Lancaster General Health for more than 35 years.
In 2022, she was inducted into the Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Foundation for Excellence in Medicine.
“He’s a very conscientious kid," Kaur said. "Just the fact that this child is thinking of you is a big joy.”
The 50 blankets made on Saturday are expected to be donated to the Women and Babies Hospital after Thanksgiving.
“I’m really grateful my [that] sister and I are able to pass on what we are doing to everyone else, and [I] hope they will pass it on to some other people,” Singh said.
Caring Connections USA accepts monetary donations and items purchased off its Wishlist.