ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A unique project created by a local family is bringing smiles to the faces of sick children, while giving other kids a chance to learn some valuable life lessons.

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Hats Bring Smiles To Sick Kids

It's called Glories Happy Hats. The group has designed workshops so that children can make colorful hats for other kids who are in the hospital.

"We're going to give them to the people in the hospital, so that they we can make them feel good," 7-year-old Joanna said.

Susan and Ali Khorsand created the workshops eight years ago. "It is about supporting the children in the hospital, but we also learn from each other as we make the hats," Susan Khorsand said.

Their goal is to help strengthen communities.

"It's not just about hats, it's an educational process that they learn communication, they learn economics. For us, the workshop is the supply side, the demand side is in the hospital," Ali Khorsand said.

The workshops, like one set up recently at the Lafayette apartment complex in Alexandria, are modeled after an assembly line so each hat is a team effort.

There are 12 steps in the hat making process, ranging from choosing the right fabric, to running the sewing machine.

The hats are trimmed with decorations and each one comes with a hand-written message.

"We write happy notes to them to make them feel good," 7-year-old David said.

Earlier this week, volunteers with Glories Happy Hats, including some of the children from the Lafayette Apartments, delivered hundreds of hats to Children's National Medical Center in Northwest Washington.

The staff there knows how much the hats mean to their young patients.

"It's so neat to see their faces when they get to pick out their own hat, and when they wear them, and, just like the name, the kids become happy when they put on their hat," said Debbie Freiberg of Children's Hospital.

Those involved say it's a win-win project for the patients and the volunteers.

"We really feel good because we know we're doing this for the kids in the hospital and we really try to help them by doing the best we can do with the hats," 8-year-old Christian explained.

The workshops are made possible with donations, and they count as volunteer work so students can fulfill their school community service requirements.

For more information about Glories happy hats, you can visit GloriesHappyHats.org.