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June 16, 2006
Charitable Sewing
Whew, finally finished with all the Creative Kindness workshops that I have been doing for the Smoky Mountain Women's Retreat and also for Senior Saints in the Smokies.
At the Women's Retreat we had 379 ladies representing 10 different states and 91 different churches! What a group! For the four weeks of Senior Saints we had a total of 1350+ retired folk around here. I don't know how many states (or countries) and churches were represented there...I don't know if they keep track of those stats.
I ended up doing 11 workshops on Creative Kindness and I had 99 ladies total that I got to share what all I've learned about sewing blessings to mend the wounds of others. I thought I'd post my outline here that might help some of you to find a great charitable sewing project for your group to do to help give a 'cup of cold water in Jesus' name' to someone in need. God Bless your efforts!
Sharing ours hearts and hands with those in need
Creative Kindness: http://www.gailbrown.com/creativekindness.htm
This book is dedicated to the generous volunteers who practice Creative Kindness every day. There are 18 projects and the real people who do them in this book. The web site also links to many other charitable sewing projects.
To honor their sharing and caring, and to help support their many diverse, worthwhile efforts, a portion of the royalties from this book will be donated to charities, on a revolving basis. Read my review of the Creative Kindness book here. To order the Creative Kindness book (#CKB5) or the Creative Kindness Continues DVD (#SN1923D) see https://www.nancysnotions.com
Sewing.org Charitable projects: http://www.sewing.org/enthusiast/html/e_charitysew.html
These step-by-step projects are not only fun to make, but they are also deeply appreciated by those who receive your special gift of comfort. Thread your needle for those in need.
Cancer Caps:
There are so many children and adults in need of a bright colored cap to wear when they lose their hair to chemotherapy. At a time when their lives are in enough turmoil, perhaps having a cap someone has made just for them, will bring some renewed hope into their life. Be sure to use soft material and/or soft yarns for these projects. Patients without hair are also self-conscious of their neck, so many would appreciate a coordinating scarf as well.
www.bevscountrycottage.com/cancercaps.html www.yarncat.com/3_Way_Cap.html
http://members.aol.com/JSchlossma/jcc.html www.chemohatpatterns.com
Knit for Kids: www.dailyguideposts.com/help/sweater.asp
Knit for Kids is a volunteer effort that connects individuals from all over the world through Guideposts. Knit for Kids creates a caring bond between people from many walks of life who send us beautifully knitted or crocheted sweaters and the thousands of children in need who receive their gifts.
Knit or Crochet slippers, boots, socks, mittens, scarves: for homeless, low income, convalescent, your local school in a poor district.
http://www.thedietdiary.com/knittingfiend/slipper/HKSlipperBoots.html
http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/crosoc.html http://www.knitting-crochet.com/mithat.html
Knit or Crochet Baby Booties
Making booties to give to your local Womens Care Center or Crises Pregnancy Center so the mother may have something tangible in her hands to help her realize that her baby is REAL. Fleece blankets are easy to make and good to give also. http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/beths-booties.html
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/bevs-stay on-booties.html
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/abctree.html#easy-bootie http://www.geocities.com/lindaslists/knitbooties.htm
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/shell-booties.html
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/bevsbooties2.html
CareWear Volunteers http://www.carewear.org/
Care Wear is a nationwide group of volunteers who knit, crochet, and/or sew, providing handmade baby items to hospitals. All Care Wear items are given free to infants, children and their parents. This site has numerous patterns available for all types of projects. Sign up for their free newsletter.
More preemie sleepers and gowns http://oliviasangels.org/sleeper_sml.pdf
www.oliviasangels.org/premgown.pdf http://www.touchinglittlelives.org/ http://www.threadsoflove.org/
One Dress at a Time www.onedress.org
Making dresses for needy individuals with all the trimmings
and extras!
Sew Much Comfort www.sewmuchcomfort.org
Sewing our support for the Troops! Altering outfits for veterans with special needs.
Diapers for Honduras http://www.nemnsynod.org/diapers.html
Helping children in need by making diapers out of your old t-shirts!
Benjamin Smiles Pillow http://www.gailbrown.com/articles/Ben_Smilesinstr.htm
Small pillow cases for Ronald McDonald House or a pediatric hospital with an oncology department.
Project Linus www.projectlinus.org
Project Linus is a 100% volunteer non-profit organization. Their mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteers.
Rag dolls 2 love www.ragdolls2love.org
In war, children suffer. They are the "collateral damage" politicians refer to when they dismiss civilian deaths in armed conflicts. Rag Dolls 2 Love, Inc was started to put a soft cloth doll in the hands of children in countries ravaged by war.
Sewing Charity: http://www.dotdigital.com/sewingcharity/alphabetical.html
Link to charitable sewing organizations arranged alphabetically. A must to bookmark!
A few more ideas for charitable projects:
- tote bags for the homeless to carry their things
- aprons, scrubbies, dishrags for soup kitchens (scrubbies link)(dishcloths link)
- pillow cases or cot sheets for a mission or shelter
- baby bibs for shelters with children or needy families
- altering clothing: weight reduction institutions, low income housing areas, colleges
- socks, mittens, hats, slippers for Head Start program or low-income pre-schools
- Jammies for Jesus making pjs for orphanages/missionaries around the world.
A few ideas on how to find out about needs in your area:
- Contact your local hospital and ask for the volunteer coordinator.
- Look in the Yellow Pages under "Social Services Organizations" or "Crisis Intervention Services". Call and ask how you can help.
- Contact a local nursing home, hospice, or shelter
- Ask friends, coworkers, ministers if they know of an organization that can use handmade items.
- Ask at the local school if they know of organizations that provide assistance to families in need.
- Ask your local police or sheriff's department or city hall.
I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine,
you did for me. Matthew 25:40
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June 16, 2006 - A Great List of Resources!
Cindy Downes