Fabric Dragon - Holiday Gift Giving, groups, lists, and charities
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Holiday Gift Giving, groups, lists, and charities
first of all, the LJ community </a></b></a>![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) holiday_wishes is about to go live for the year....
plus for those who knit and crochet there is a new LJ community </a></b></a>ornamentex2008 that is for ornament exchanges by knitters and crocheters (if you have been wanting to learn mitten or sock knitting, a miniature mitten or sock makes a great ornament.)
and there are always the charity needs:
Things you need No Special Skills For:
The Make a Child Smile charity. Send a greeting card, a craft, or a small gift to a child (or their sibling) battling serious illness.
Become a Chemo Angel and help someone undergoing chemotherapy by sending them cards, small gifts, or virtual hugs weekly.
Heifer International grows independence, by giving families livestock, and then they give some of the offspring to other families. a great charity... not just cows, they also give wool bearing critters, chickens or ducks, and more.
Canine Companions for Independence is my favorite among the handicapped assistance animal groups, but there are others. There are Seeing Eye Dogs, and hearing ear dogs, and probably any number of specialty groups.
Don't Forget that if you qualify to do so, the blood banks are always very low during Holiday seasons. Please give blood if you can! Contact your local blood bank or the Red Cross for details.
If you cannot give blood yourself, consider volunteering to help give donors a ride to and from the donation site, or hand out juice, or something. when i didnt have a car the person who drove me in was JUST as responsible for my donation ....
the Orphan Foundation of America supports children in and aging out of foster care.
Doctors without borders is a fantastic charity, as is the knitter specific version on the Yarn harlots blog "knitters without borders" which goes to the same charity, but lets them know it came from a knitter!
If you are thinking about cutting your hair, consider donating the hair to: Wigs for Kids, a charity making.. duh. wigs for kids. i don't like locks of Love, and find their advertising practices deceptive, so i dont link to t hem, but they exist too.
EDIT to add a new charity:
The SEVA Foundation provides cataract surgery in over 15 countries, giving people the gift of sight, they also help to provide clean water for communities, and opportunities for women and children.
Support Our Troops, no special skills needed:
Support the USO as a volunteer or give a donation.
Contact Any Soldier for gift giving and letter writing opportunities.
The group known as Operation Shoebox sends things both for our troops, and for civilians in the war zone (like Iraqi children) that our troops have requested.
Send Treats for Troops to our military posted overseas.
Give2The Troops also sends care packages of various sorts to deployed military personnel.
everyone on this list has books, right? well Books for Soldiers sends books, video games, and other things to the soldiers. this group requires more work to join, as you will be mailing directly to troops in the war zone, so requires a very basic form and security screen.
Donate American made wool socks and gloves, with liners, to our troops. socks are considered "personal items" and are not replaced after issue. (I do not know this charity personally, please investigate for yourself)
Cell Phones for Soldiers. They take old cells and donate them so the troops can make free calls. It's sponsored by AT&T. . http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/
Look at the charities listed below or in the comments, and donate time or money to them, even if you can't sew or knit or whatever. It costs cold hard cash to maintain a website or mail packages, but really most of these charities will happily teach you.....
Knitting , Crocheting, Sewing, or other skills needed:
Make a hand knotted Rosary for our troops, for people who need to go through MRIs or for anyone who needs a little prayer in their life. Rosary Army is one of my favorite "religious" charities because they do NOT proselytize or annoy anyone, they send Rosaries, free of charge, made by volunteers, to anyone who *requests* one. there are links to troop requests as well, which must be made in certain approved colors. I used to make these for </a></b></a>![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ladyrowansplace to take with her to Oncology appointments.
Make a Helmetliner or neck cooler for our troops. they are collected year round and distributed as needed. (i know there is a crochet pattern out there somewhere, but this link goes to knitting and sewing patterns) while the helmet liner must be made in non synthetic materials (wool preferred!) and in military acceptable colors, you can make a practice one in whatever you have on hand and use that for yourself or to donate to another charity.
Knit socks for Soldiers: there are several groups for this, among them Socks for soldiers , the socks for soldiers project (with patterns), and more. (psst! cant knit socks? look up in the "no skills required " list)
Knitting for the ships (knits for military, especially the Navy, including caps)
Quilts for soldiers can be a great morals booster, even if they cant take them "into the field". Most of these groups make quilts for returning wounded soldiers. Quilts for Soldiers is the best known, but Quilts of valor is also getting some press.
Afghans for Afghans makes blankets, vests, socks,and other warm items for children and some adults in the war zone, many of whom have lost a lot of their warm clothing and even their homes during the fighting.
There are many blanket programs, including Project Linus, and Warm Up America, and Binky Patrol, among others , you can make an entire blanket (small one) or just make a square and have it joined with other squares.
Care Wear (Caps for Preemies)a good use for really small amounts of leftover yarn.www.carewear.org
Hugs for Homeless Animals (blankets and cage pads for homeless pets)
( also ask your local shelter if they can use blankets, towels, or small toys, as well. A friend I know knits "catnip mice" and small dolls for the animals to curl up with in their cages)
Sheila's Shawls (domestic violence prevention) a few of these can be done with one skein.
www.silentwitness.net
Mother Bear Project (comfort for kids in Africa with AIDS)
this project uses very small amounts of three (or more) yarns.
www.motherbearproject.org
Chemo Caps is at www.chemocaps.com but there are many other chemo cap maker charities out there.
Prayer Shawls
www.shawlministry.com
(there ARE shawls that can be done with one skein, so don't feel this is an expensive idea.)
Here are some link sites to start searching for good knitting and crafty charities:
one is Knitting For Charity but no one list is complete.
Interweave knits has a good list also, with links to knit, crochet, sewing and other charities, for newborns, soldiers, prisoners, the homeless and more, plus correctional facilities that need items. I think this is the most thorough. there is also http://www.stitch-witch.net/charity.html
for sewing links look here: http://www.dotdigital.com/sewingcharity/alphabetical.html
Make a scarf for a child aging out of Foster care, yup this is the same Orphan Foundation listed above in "no skills needed" but this is for knitting/crochet. The deadline for this year is December 15th.. Come on folks, anyone can knit a scarf!
PLEASE feel free to add to this list of good charities.
Tags: charity, crochet, gifts, holidays, knit, sewing
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I endorse Any Soldier. However "Socks For Soldiers" doesn't make much sense to me since overseas we are ONLY allowed to wear uniform items. Technically we're not even supposed to wear white athletic socks under our boots, even though I know people do.
There's no reason you can't send quilts. At this point in the wars, just about everyone lives in a trailer or even a permanent building, so quilts would be fine, unless you have a fugheaded command who want beds to be uniform and inspect for same. Not very common, but it happens.
Any Soldier is also handy because there are wish lists.
just added some more links.
i know the various socks for soldiers programs (both donating socks, and knitting them) have requirements as far as materials, colors, and so on. i sent a pair of (probably pretty awful) socks two years ?? ago. they had to be natural fibers, and in specific colors....
i dont know the "donate socks" people, but i put the link in for the non knitters.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/93194978/1511936) | | From: | cvirtue |
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| Date: | November 9th, 2008 06:10 pm (UTC) |
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There's some very peculiar lj/html formatting in your post -- are you seeing it too?
yeah, i know. when i tried to edit the blasted thing to add some charities.. it DELETED my entire post. i had to go back to an older copy and cut and paste.. and i am a bit afraid to try editing anymore. i will try again in a few minutes.
wow, thanks for the great resources! I will be putting this in my memories so I can donate. I wish I had donated my hair... I just cut off about 10 inches. Bummer.
an awful lot of hair isnt usable...
but just so you know, donations of even a few inches can be sold to hair coloring companies. and that money is used to help fund the wigs.
besides... hair grows fast. especially if you eat enough omega oils.
There's a Yahoo group I belong to called Caps for a Cure that sends knitted and crocheted chemo caps to various hospitals all over the country.
I've also used up yarn to make blankets that I donate to a local shelter. It's kinda fun going into the local PetSmart and seeing them in the cages. *Any* shelter would appreciate blankets, towels, and other items for kitties to curl up in. :)
I used to be AOL buddies with the guy who started Books for Soldiers! He's a great person and a good friend, we just fell out of touch. When I had to turn in my ex to the cops and then leave town, Stormy called to check on me and make sure I was OK. His heart is in the right place.
Ooh, this is interesting. I often do World Vision Christmas gifts, but I'm always open to new ideas. I second the recommendation of Wigs for Kids; I chopped off a lot of my hair for them in the spring. On the other hand, I have no time money car, am not eligible for blood donation, and can't knit. But Rosary Army looks intriguing. I ought to be able to tie knots, at least...
well, i was one of those folks who never could learn to do french knots. and i manage.
i am fabricdragon on the forums over there. its easy enough really. let me know if you want some of the good twine to start you off.. the cheap hardware store twine knots funny...
Does it knot funny? Darn, I was just going to trek to Canadian Tire. Shows what I know! What would you recommend, then?
oh by all means go to the local hardware store. get #36 mason twine. it comes in a roll. thats the basic stuff we use. being nylon you have to tape the twine before you cut it, or burn it with a lighter, or use a stencil cutter or hot cutter, because the stuff ravels as fast as it can otherwise.
i am just telling you that if you cant make the knots "look right" and the stuff is being difficult... dont worry! the good twine will solve those problems. i will happily mail you some. until then use Mason twine!
Oh, okay, thanks. I think I'll try it with the generic stuff first, since that's easiest for me to get, but I'll let you know if it doesn't work or if I want to upgrade! I'll probably start with one for me, just to get the hang of it. (I figure my first one will probably be terrible, regardless of the quality of the twine! So I might as well practise with the cheap stuff...)
| | | rosary twine and etc | (Link) |
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there are two problems that are almost "normal" with new rosary knotters.
1. knots invert. that means the criss cross part that is hopefully INSIDE the loope making the knot look all mysterious and beadike... dont stay inside, they roll to the outside. this si cured with practice. seriously.
2. spacing. everyone developed their own tricks to make the spacing even. my first rosary. well. the spacing looked like i was drunk. a smidge between these HM knots, and almost two inches to the next one. practice again.. but in my case i make my HM knots smashed up snug, and work them apart later.. and i use my thumb to space the OF knot. and smoosh them up against my thumb.
but seriously, time and again we get newbies going "help, my Rosary is . like.. HUGE! and it used up all the twine in the house!" and their seocnd one is half the length....
thats why most of us just tell people it may happen.
Thank you for compiling this list! I will select a few w/ my son and we can work i=on them together :-)
always glad to help out. its sort of the same way it is with the red cross.. if you cant give *yourself* you may be able to help someone else give. i figure i cant support all those charities myself, but i can publicize them....
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/2509728/691068) | | From: | profesor |
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| Date: | November 11th, 2008 05:13 pm (UTC) |
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Another handy thing that many people don't think of - suitcases and luggage for foster kids.
Most foster care agencies are ALWAYS looking for luggage to give to foster kids. Think about it - these kids move frequently, most of the time with all their belongings in garbage bags. What does that say to a kid about their stuff? And there's no way for them to keep precious breakables safe that way. I collect suitcases I find at yard sales, and a lot of times people just give them to me when I tell them what it's for.
| | | Foster kids charity idea | (Link) |
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oh... yeah!
you know, i have some extra luggage. its not in great shape but its better than a garbage bag.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/47357157/383092) | | From: | snowwand |
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| Date: | November 14th, 2008 07:22 pm (UTC) |
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Thanks for this list. I just signed up to become a Chemo Angel.
glad to hear it!
(psst. keep an eye out for things the local patients and chemo centers might need. any hints form your person... like "its awfully cold" or the magazines are like 8 years old! and so on. then go tell the knitters....)
| | From: | snowwand |
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| Date: | November 14th, 2008 07:42 pm (UTC) |
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Well, my dad is a local chemo patient right now...so we have a pretty good idea of what might be helpful. Luckily, in Boston, there is a huge amount of support given to the Jimmy Fund and Dana Faber and they, in turn, are really supportive of patients. |
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