THE DAILY CHUM

Entry 5: Hostess with the Mostest Part Two: Help Yourself by Helping Others

There is only one knitting group on my college campus. I’m not complaining, I fully appreciate that there is one at all, in fact I’ll plug it. The group is a charity group by the name Stitches for Peace (you can find us online here). Unlike other campus SnB’s this one has stuck around, probably because college (and life in general) is so self-centered that it feels great to reach out to others.

Unlike spiders, paper cuts, and the hole in the ozone layer, Charity groups are better when they are bigger. A larger group of knitters can produce more, it is much easier for 16 people to knit 1 blanket square each than for 4 knitters to knit 4 squares each. Spreading the word about a newly started group is fairly easy, you can make and post flyers on community bulletin boards (many grocery stores, coffee shops, libraries, community centers, and churches have them), Lion Brand has a Charity Connection
Charity Knitters have the same basic needs as any group of crafters, space, seating, minimal food and decorations, and above all music. In my experience charity knitters tend to be more disparate groups than your regular knitting group. You have more kinds of people present, which means that while it may be harder to find music everybody likes, it’s more important for the awkward gaps in the conversation to be filled with something.
Most charity groups like to focus on projects for one organization, this allows the group members to send their pieces all together instead of separately, which saves a bit on shipping. Sometimes a group will stay with one organization forever, others will move periodically from organization to organization so they can help people all over. If your group is going to be shifting around, I would suggest making the campaign a fairly long one. It’s not very likely that a group can amass a lot in a month or two, so I like three months, or in the case of a group at a school, a semester, for a length.
There are many organizations that will gladly take your group’s knitting, some are better than others and, of course, each group will want to pick for itself, for that I suggest either clicking the charity tag over in the sidebar, or else heading over to Warm with Love. Warm With Love is run by Robyn, Lime and Violet interviewed her for episode 25, and has lists of all kinds of charities, global and local. It’s really important to note what kinds of yarn a charity will accept, some, afghans for Afghans in particular, only accept wool and mostly wool blends. Charities usually have a reason for requesting certain types of yarn so be sure your group is prepared to handle whatever your charity asks for. I have a few favorite charities and I wanted to plug them really quickly:

• The Mother Bear Project – Based in Minneapolis, the Mother Bear Project is ” where you can list your group, with as many details as you want. The site really does work, people from outside my college come to our knit nights because we are listed there.dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children, primarily those affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of hand-knit and crocheted bears.” My first charity project was for these guys, and I have to say that this project is great for knitters at any level, and a big pile of bears is just the cutest thing.
• afghans for Afghans – The best name in knitting charities (because I am a total sucker for a pun), “afghans for Afghans is a humanitarian and educational people-to-people project that sends hand-knit and crocheted blankets and sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks to the beleaguered people of Afghanistan.” They have quarterly campaigns, in which they tell knitting groups what they need so the same groups can help fill the need.
• The Dulaan Project – The chosen charity of St. Brenda, knits “to warm Mongolia”. Dulaan provides warm knitwear for the poor people surviving the bitter cold of a Mongolian winter.

Once your group is together and you have a project there is still the yarn problem. Can you give up your precious stash for others? I often can, but it’s always a struggle. The yarn problem is why many charity groups accept yarn donations, I’ll gladly knit with the group’s yarn rather tan my own stash. Many yarn donations are heavy on the acrylic, red heart stuff, which is useful for some things (dog blankets for animal shelters for instance) but many charities prefer animal fibers or even just wool. If your group can put together a little money for yarn purchases you can really make it last by checking sites like ebay and craigslist for yarn, especially in garage sale season, when people sometimes destash at ridiculous prices.
That’s my take on charity knitting, and incidentally, my group is looking for a new project and I would love to have some suggestions. Feel free to share your own stories, plug your groups, or anything else. We’re just happy to be doing good works.

Erin is…probably in Minnesota somewhere. She adorns the land of 10,000 lakes yarn stores with her glorious presence and profound geekiness. Erin knits, when she is not studying, singing herself hoarse, and reading whatever comes into her notice. Erin also enjoys speaking in the third person, although she does not do so on her blog.

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