Strangers Step In To Help Grieving Boy Replace Dad’s Prized Possession

The special beanie meant the world to this little boy

We could all use a little faith in humanity right about now. And the story of Colin Haas, a missing hat, and the kindness of strangers just may be exactly what we need.

Colin Haas is a 12-year-old boy with autism from Frackville, Pennsylvania who lost his stepdad, Scott, when he died from a brain aneurysm in December, 2014. Colin and Scott shared a love of music, especially the band Weezer. Scott’s most prized possession was a Weezer beanie he wore all the time, unless that is, Colin stole it from him first.

After he died, Colin’s mom, Megan, said the beanie was the only thing the little boy wanted to hang on to remind him of his stepdad. But Megan told Scary Mommy that the family moved a little less than a year later, and somehow the beanie was lost in the shuffle. “I believe that it was mistakenly put into the donation boxes,” she said.

For the next few years, Megan said she searched everywhere she could to try and replace the beanie for Colin but the hat had unfortunately been discontinued. She said a friend suggested turning to social media to see if anyone could help. That’s when she posted on Facebook the story of the missing hat, hopeful someone would have an idea on how she could replace it for her son.

“I wanted to see if any locals had come across it in thrift stores or sales sites, since we believe it was donated,” she explained. But the power of social media took over and Megan said her post was shared all over the world, with strangers reaching out offering to even hand make a replacement for Colin.

She said that “in itself would have been enough for Colin, just knowing that people from all over the world were trying to help.” But the family was in for more good news when the Weezer fan club happened across her post. Megan said that’s when club members decided to put together a care packages for Colin, which included among all the memorabilia, the exact same beanie his stepdad always wore.

Colin is one amazing kid. Megan told us after Scott died he even put on a comedy show to raise money and hire a lawyer to change his last name to Scott’s. “He’s a very determined kid,” his mom said. “And being autistic has not hindered that, while he struggles in certain aspects of his life, he pushes through.”

The appreciative mom said she has always taught her children the importance of kindness. “You do good things, spread love into the world, and it will come back ten fold,” she said. This experience proved that for her family and restored their faith in people at a time when they all needed it the most. “I just want people to realize that with everything going on in the world today not to lose hope in humanity.”