Hastings Couple Donates 1,000 Wool Hats to
St. Paul Salvation Army

The West 7th Salvation Army in St. Paul received a major gift Dec. 28 that is warming as many hearts as it is heads: 1,000 new wool hats.

The hats were donated by Jim and Jan Rossing, owners of Rossing’s Art & Frame in Hastings, Minn. (view photos). The hats are being distributed at the West 7th Salvation Army, where every weekday hundreds of homeless and working-poor individuals eat a hot breakfast, seek shelter and receive social services.

“(Our business) has been blessed this year – we wanted to give back,” said Jan Rossing, who with her husband regularly gives to local churches and other philanthropic organizations.

The quality garments came from Bemidji Woolen Mills in Bemidji, Minn., which offered a discount off the hats’ retail price of about $10 a piece.

“With temperatures dipping below zero, these hats could not have come at a better time,” said Major Darryl Leedom, commander of the Twin Cities Salvation Army. “The kindness and generosity of Jim and Jan Rossing is deeply appreciated.”   

The Rossings came up with idea to donate the hats about a month ago, when they resolved to find a new way of helping the poor. In doing so, they made a priority to maximize every dollar they would spend.

“There are a lot of charities where, because of administration costs, people are making too much money off donations,” Jim said. “But every penny of every one of these hats goes right to the recipient – nobody makes a dime on it. We thought of giving the hats to The Salvation Army, an organization we knew we could trust.”