By MIKE CAPUTO
A few years later, Davidson, 17, began "Knitting from the Heart," a community project performed in honor of her late great-grandmother Katherine. Using only donated funds and materials, she hand-knitted 100 scarves to be given to the needy at a center for the homeless in Hempstead.
"Knitting from the Heart" is the centerpiece of Davidson's road to attaining the Gold Award, the highest distinction in the Girl Scouts. More importantly for Davidson, it was a chance to pay respect to the woman who served as an inspiration.
"My great-grandmother always tried to teach me to knit her crochet and I sat there and said 'I don't want to learn," Davidson said. "And then I taught myself and said 'Oh it would have been so nice if she taught me.' But I didn't have the patience. It is definitely something that is time consuming."
Davidson, a senior at Clarke High School, said it typically takes four hours to knit one scarf while using a loom. Even though she is highly active in extracurricular activities at Clarke, Davidson dedicated time during evenings and on weekends to knit the homemade scarves. As a result, the senior girl scout worked well beyond the 65 hours that are required for the Gold Award.
An additional requirement for Davidson to fulfill was to ensure that all project materials were obtained through donations. She sent hundreds of letters to craft and yarn companies, and did receive several responses and donations.
"It would have been so much easier if I could buy the yarn myself and say 'go knit,' but she had to do all herself," said Karen Davidson, Jordan's mother.
Jordan Davidson became so apt at the skill that she eventually taught her own knitting class at the East Meadow Public Library. There, she instructed a class filled with eight beginners - young and old -- and was able to use their final products to donate along with her own homemade scarves.
To culminate two years encompassing hundreds of hours of knitting, teaching, and fundraising, Davidson delivered her homemade scarves on Nov. 4 to the Mary Brennan Inn, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in Hempstead. The Inn, as it is commonly known throughout Long Island, is a soup kitchen and emergency shelter that serves the homeless. Davidson chose the Inn after researching homeless centers in the Town of Hempstead, and was proud of her decision.
"It really made me appreciate the two years of work I put into the project," she said. "I did not realize the impact I would have on the patrons of the Inn until I was there and actually seeing them pick up a scarf and admiring it and taking it for the winter or their family or whatever circumstance they needed it for. It was such a great and deserving place to donate my scarves to."
Davidson and her project will be honored at a East Meadow Gold Award ceremony in May, and by the Girls Scouts of Nassau County in June.
In addition to her volunteerism and independent involvement for the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, Davidson is a member of several clubs and honors societies at Clarke. The Clarke senior is involved in the drama club, the jazz choir, the Improv Troupe and sings the national anthem at football games and pep rallies.
She has also performed extensive science research and is awaiting a response to her entry in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search Competition.
"I am very proud of how my project turned out," Davidson said. "I would have never imagined it to be as successful as it was or that it would be so beneficial to so many people."
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
