2007 Barakah Life HandmadeA new article written by Diane Gilleland for craftstylish
What a surprise to see Diane's article in craftstylish http://www.craftstylish.com/ she mentions Barakah Life's "Sew Giving" Baby Blanket Drive.
Please check out Diane's blog Craftypod; http://www.craftypod.com/ and her fun crafting podcast which you can find at itunes by the same name.
Our next Sew Giving Drive is just around the corner in January of 2009. We've been coming up with new ways for more people to get involved and double the goodness.
Bay Area crafter Khadija O'Connell collected these blankets from other crafters around the country for Project Night Night, a charity that serves homeless childrenAs a crafter, you possess an important power: the power to use your creative skills to bring comfort to people in need. There are so many charity crafting projects you can participate in on a local, national, and even global level.
Let's
start locally. Check with your city's volunteer centers to find out
where there might be a need for handmade items in your community. A
local homeless shelter might be in need of warm knitted hats. A
children's hospital might welcome a donation of handmade soft toys. Or
there might be a senior-care center that would appreciate a gift of
your time to bring craft projects to its residents. You can use your
local phone directory to find ways to contribute in your city, or try
these websites: SmartVolunteer, VolunteerMatch, or 1-800-Volunteer.
On a national level, there are lots of charity crafting projects being organized on the web:
• ChemoCaps seeks donations of soft, hand-knit caps for cancer patients.
• Care Wear coordinates volunteers across the United States who sew, knit, and crochet baby items and donate them to hospitals.
• Warm Up America! collects handmade blankets, clothing, and accessories for people facing crisis or receiving medical care.
You can also find a long list of nationwide charity crafting projects at Sewing Charity and another at Wool Works.
If you read craft blogs, you can often find limited-time projects to participate in. A couple of wonderful recent examples were Tricot du Coeur, Softies for Mirabel, and the Barakah Life Handmade Baby Blanket Drive.
On a global level, you can use your crafting skills for good through these projects:
• afghans for Afghans collects hand-knit or crocheted blankets, hats, sweaters, and socks to send to refugees from war-torn Afghanistan.
• The Animals Asia Foundation recently put out a call for hand-knit mittens for bears
that have been rescued from China's bear bile farms. The mittens keep
the bears' paws warm and protected while they undergo medical
treatments after rescue.
This list may seem overwhelming—there
seems to be so much need out there for your crafting skills! When
you're first exploring the world of crafting for charity, it's wise to
start small. Try making one item for one of these projects. If you find
that you enjoy the process of making things for charity, then you can
take on more. But be careful! It's so easy to overcommit.
Many
charity crafting projects operate on deadlines, meaning that if you
volunteer to help, you'll be expected to turn in your handmade donation
by a specific date so that it can be distributed to someone in need.
When you agree to participate in a charity effort, make sure you have
plenty of available time in your schedule for the project.
Another
important point is that when you decide to participate in a charity
project, be sure to read all of the project guidelines thoroughly. Some
projects require specific materials. Some require items to be made in
specific sizes. Be sure that your donations are something the project
can use.
Keep in mind, too, that if you're too busy to craft for
any of these projects, you can always make a cash donation—any of these
charity crafting efforts would be grateful for your support.
This is great! I have been looking for something just like this. Thanks for sharing the info!
Posted by: Delilah | September 23, 2008 at 12:08 PM