Contest Time!

Another contest, shall we? I think we'll do this contest similar to the last one, only this time we'll be collecting funds as well. We need to raise about $400 more in order to register as a 501(c)3 (yea!!) and this is exciting news for us all! I can't wait to take this awesome charity to the next level and see it grow even bigger. The bigger we are, the more people we can clothe with warm goodies knit/crocheted from the heart, and that it what we are all about here at Knits For Needs.

So, here are the contest details:

1) If you donate a knit/crocheted item to KFN, you will get an entry into a drawing for prizes. For every 5 items, you'll get one more entry. ie: if you donate 22 items, you'll get 5 entries.. 1 for the first item, 1 more for each multiple of 5 more. (Does this make sense? :))

2) For every $5 you donate, you'll get one entry into the drawing.

3) For every tweet about @knitsforneeds 's contest, you get one more entry (please use hashtag #charityknittingcontest, post a link to this blog post, and address @knitsforneeds so I see the tweet).

4) Write about Knits For Needs and our contest on your blog and you'll get 5 entries. Make sure I see the post.

5) Contest runs from February 1, 2011 - April 1, 2011.

I am drumming up some prizes.. more info to come. If you can donate a prize for our contest, PLEASE do! Keep it with you (do not mail it in), email me that you can donate, and I'll let you know the winner when the contest is over.

HAVE FUN! And remember, this is ALL about helping other through our work. 100% of all items donated go to people in need, and 100% of all monetary donations will go to registration of our charity and will be used for shipping costs.

Thanks in advance to all who participate!!! Game on!!

Knits For Needs
PO Box 551
Woodstock, GA 30188

knitsforneeds@gmail.com

You're Knittin'!

Big thanks to Cheryl in Texas for sending in 2 shawls, 1 cowl, 1 pair of socks, 1 hat, 2 scarves, and a monetary donation! You were quite varied in your knitting preferences... we appreciate that :)

Thanks also to Linda in CT for donating 7 scarves and 7 hats, as well as a monetary donation.

And thank you to Lori in SC who sent in 5 hats to our donation site for the homeless veterans project (read more about that in our group on Ravelry.com).

We appreciate all of you so much!

More to come about an upcoming contest... any ideas about the contest? Can you donate a prize or two? Email me! knitsforneeds@gmail.com

Registering Knits For Needs

I've been looking into registering our charity as a 501(c)3 non-profit, which has been my goal for some time. This would get us our tax exempt status and qualify us as a legitimate non-profit organization. This is wonderful and exciting news, but comes with a price. It looks like it will be right around $1,000 for us to do this, which means we need more funds. After we raise these funds and register, the only other funds we'd need to upkeep would be our shipping funds, which, right now, run about $150/year, which isn't much. However, if we keep growing, this figure will go up as we will be making further shipments, but we are looking into getting more donation sites and hand-delivering more items, which cuts down on the cost of shipping.

I am excited about the direction Knits For Needs is going in, and I think registering as a 501 (c)3 non-profit will further our growth. If you would like to contribute monetarily to our organization, please use the "donate" button on our blog or send funds to: Knits For Needs, PO Box 551, Woodstock, Ga 30188. We would greatly appreciate any and all funds we receive, and thank you so much to the people who have already donated.

As always, keep sending in your knit/crocheted items! This is an ongoing project for us... we collect items throughout the year and donate to people in need throughout the year as well, although the winter months are our busiest times, as far as shipments go. Thank you for your support!

What an Awesome 2010 for KFN!

First of all, big thanks to Josephine in PA for sending in 6 hats. Her daughter sent in Josephine's hats with a wonderful note saying Josephine is a 90-year-old open-heart surgery patient who is finding her knitting and giving to others great therapy. You're awesome, Josephine!! Thanks!

Also, I wanted to mention a note I received from Lisa at Threads Of Compassion, the organization that donated our scarves to a rape crisis center. Lisa says, "Dear Meridith and Knits For Needs: Thank you so much for your scarf donation in November to Threads of Compassion. Because of your donation, we were able to collect a total of 238 scarves in 2010! Your scarves have made a difference! Thank you so much for helping to make Threads of Compassion a success in our 2010 year!" I love hearing things like this!

We had a great 2010 here at Knits for Needs! We collected a whopping 1,070 items for people in need! I still have some things I need to send out this winter. Way to go guys! I am so proud of our group!

So far this year, 2011, we have collected/donated 40 items, thanks to Alicia, who frequents our Ravelry group. You and your mother, who also donated a lot of items, are awesome Alicia... it is amazing how much you give to people in need. Proud to be working with you!

I think our goal for 2011, since we went way over our goal of 900 for last year, should be 1,500 collected/donated by the end of the year. What do you think? I think we can do it! We are really growing and I'm still in the process of getting our charity registered, which will help a lot.

So... onward to 1,500!!!