Knits For Needs

Rock On Knits For Needs

2012-01-28T04:53:00.000-08:00

Great news everyone! It looks like someone will be taking over KFN for me so we can continue to grow and donate to people in need. I am very happy about this, as I'm sure you are as well. The only thing that will change for you is where you are sending your items. I will let you know all of the new info soon!

This past week I was able to get a few things delivered:

- 3 cat toys and 1 blanket to the Humane Society
- 11 lap robes to my grandmother's nursing home
- 23 hats, 15 dish cloths to Timothy Lutheran Foodbank which is down the street from me

The great thing about delivering things locally is getting to see the people's reactions. Everyone is so grateful for us and what we do.

We still have some items to ship out, a lot in fact. I had planned on getting them shipped this past week, but didn't get to it. Everything will go out this week and I will post that info soon.

Have a great weekend!

New News, and Sad News

2012-01-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

Hello all!! Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. As most of you know, I am expecting my fourth child in April and the beginning of the pregnancy was very rough, so I've been absent from the computer for much of that time.

Special thanks to the following people:

Terri in Ohio, for donating 9 hats.
Marcy for donating 1 scarf and 12 dishcloths
Melinda in PA for donating 7 squares
Shanda in NC for donating yarn, 1 blanket, 1 pair of booties, and 3 hats
Linda in CT for donating some money, 3 blankets, 7 hats, and 3 scarves
Myra in IL for donating 1 pair of socks and 11 hats
Diane in NM for donating 8 squares

Our number for 2011 (and the very beginning of 2012) is 418. Thank you to all who contributed to this project again this past year!

I still have more items that need to be sent off to places and I plan to do that this week. I will let you know where everything goes.

And now for some sad news. I have decided that, for a number of reasons, I am going to dissolve Knits For Needs. Actually, if someone else is interested in taking over, please let me know asap and I'll get you started. That way, Knits For Needs can stick around and continue to grow. All of the rest of our items will be donated this week, including some yarn we still have, and our remaining funds will be donated to a worthy knitting charity (ideas?). Thank you to all of our loyal supporters and contributors. This has been a wonderful experience and I wish I could keep it going, but my life has changed drastically and I can no longer run the charity. Since its humble beginnings in early 2009, Knits For Needs donated 2,112 items to people in need!! Again, please let me know if you would like to take over the charity asap.

I'll post again soon when I ship the remaining items!! And... a very late Happy New Year to you!!

2011-09-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Today I sent out two big boxes of yarn to two groups who knit and crochet for charity. One group is in New York and they knit/crochet items for children in treatment centers and domestic violence shelters. The other project that we donated yarn to is as follows...

"My name is Suzann and I am currently a third year student at Boston University studying health sciences. In recent months I have been moved by reports covering the widespread famine in Somalia that has left hundreds of thousands dead and over 12 million at risk of starvation. As a citizen of the world I want to do my part to make an impact and most importantly, save lives. This is where Project Knit for Somalia begins. Our purpose is to bring those that love knitting and knit-lovers across the country together to raise money for hunger relief in Somalia. I'm currently in the early stages of spreading word through social media and inviting Boston University student groups and students across the nation to lend their ears, hearts, and a few hours of their time.

Each person is given the freedom to knit any wearable item, though preferably scarves and hats, and I will take responsibility for selling the finished products and donating 100 percent of the proceeds to an international aid organization stationed in Somalia such as Save the Children, the American Refugee Committee, UNICEF, and Action Against Hunger. In order to mobilize quickly we'll need yarn, and a lot of it. This is where I would appreciate any help in providing yarn that your organization can give. My goal is for Project Knit for Somalia to raise $500 in proceeds, of which every cent will be donated by November 13 or World Kindness Day. Each dollar can keep a Somali child or refugee alive for another day."

We are very happy to support these organizations by supplying them some yarn that they need and we have!!

Also, Lynne from GA stopped by my house today and brought tons of knit items and took a lot of yarn to use for her charity projects.

Thank you so much Lynne for donating 8 scarves, 11 lap robes, 26 hats, and 7 prayer squares! Also, thank you to Myra who donated 7 baby hats, to Cheryl who donated 1 shawl, 1 fingerless mitts, 5 scarves, 3 pairs of socks, and 10 hats, to Karen who donated 10 hats, and to Nancy in Baton Rouge (geaux Tigers!!!) who donated 5 scarves!

Yarn Donation From KFN

2011-08-26T02:03:00.000-07:00

Today I'm sending out a huge box of yarn to the charity below.

*****************

Dear Knits for Needs,

You are ANGELS. We really need whatever you donate, especially fun fur.

Please send your donation to:

Handmade Especially for You

30065 Grandpoint Lane

Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275

Handmade is a real 501(c)3 so we will send you a receipt for your donation as soon as we receive it. If you're interested, here is an info letter we send to prospective volunteers/donors:

Welcome to Handmade Especially for You (501(c)3). We knit and crochet comfort scarves and distribute them to shelters for abused women. In 2010, we donated 10,000 comfort scarves to 27 shelters in CA. This looks like a lot, but we still need more because there is so much abuse that shelters are always full. Currently we make at least 800 scarves each month and send them to 43 shelters in S. CA. We need 5,000 for the Holidays so we really need YOU!

Here are the specs for making comfort scarves:

big needles (size 15 or 17) or big hooks (K, N, P)
soft yarn (for comfort)
happy color
at least 4 inches wide but no more than 5 inches wide
at least 60 inches long
open stitch (for distribution in a warm climate)
some decoration like fun fur or ribbon to individualize each scarf and make it a personal gift for the recipient

Please send your finished scarves to:

Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275

If you would like me to send you free yarn, please send me your address and tell me if you prefer knitting or crocheting. And please make a donation to cover the cost of my shipping the yarn to you. You can donate through PayPal. We have a link on our website: www.handmadeespecially.org

Thanks in advance for your participation.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Leslye Borden, Founder
www.handmadeespecially.org
501(c)3 EIN: 26-3529292

If you need any other info or have other questions, please ask me. I'm easy to reach. 310 547 3673

N GA Knitting Guild Meeting

2011-08-19T01:12:00.001-07:00

Last night I met with the North Georgia Knitting Guild to speak on behalf of our beloved charity, Knits For Needs. Naturally, I am wide awake at 4am Friday morning because I am so darned excited about how the meeting went and also about the future of KFN!

There were about 40 people in attendance, all knitting away, while I informed them about what we do here at KFN. Everyone was full of questions, ideas, and gratitude for the wonderful things we are doing together to make a difference in the lives of people in need. I was so pleasantly surprised to find that they had already collected some items for us and also made a sizable monetary donation to assist with our shipping costs! This awesome group donated: 3 super-cute knit toys (for a baby? possibly they could even be cat toys for shelter cats?), 4 hats, 2 scarves, 4 baby sets (tiny little hat & booties), and 8 bears. The bears will be donated to firemen who provide them to children affected by fire. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but, again, it is 4am and the lighting in here leaves much to be desired :)
I would like to send a huge THANK YOU out to all those in attendance for having me, for being so supportive, and for your donations! All indications point to NGKG becoming a huge contributor to our efforts!

As you know, our goal for this year is to provide 3,000 hand-knit/crocheted items to people in need. We have collected 329 items so far, so we have a long way to go, but I am confident we will reach our goal, especially since our donations pick up in the fall and winter months. If you are not sending your items in to KFN but are donating to charity on our behalf, please be sure to let me know so I can count your items.

In other news, I need a person who shares my vision about KFN who would like to brainstorm with me and help me with things I need to learn more about, such as registering as a 501(c)3, taxes, money, etc. As expected, Knits For Needs continues to grow and I need a "right-hand-man"! If you think you are the person for the "job", please let me know via email: knitsforneeds@gmail.com. Preferably, this person would be local and able to physically sit down and discuss subjects with me, but this is not a requirement.

One of the many things I love about Knits For Needs is that we take any and all knit/crocheted items and find homes for them. I feel that there are so many people (and animals!) out there who need a little love and we show it to them by taking our time and skills to reach out and let them know people care about them. Our items will not bring back someone's burned home or cure cancer, but they may just give a person the support, love, and strength they need to go on. I want to show this love to as many people as possible, so, as you know, we do not focus on particular items, but instead we collect and donate anything you knit or crochet. We WILL find homes for your items!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy knitting and crocheting! Go KFN!

Yarn, Yarn, and More Yarn!

2011-07-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hello all!! I need to send out a BIG thank you to Lauren in GA. She donated a ton of yarn to Knits For Needs. Thank you so much, Lauren, your yarn will be put to great use!

On the topic of yarn, do not forget I have TONS of yarn here for the taking. If you plan to use the yarn for charity, I will send you a big box of it. I ask that you in turn make a $10 donation to KFN, which really would just cover the shipping of the box. Also, let me reiterate, the yarn is ONLY for charity projects! In addition, if you know of anyone, maybe an elderly person, who loves to knit or crochet and cannot pay for their yarn, that is also a situation we would love to help out in. Another example would be someone who is recovering from a procedure or accident and would love to be knitting or crocheting. Please let me know if you know anyone like this or if you would like to take advantage of this free yarn for your charity projects. Email us: knitsforneeds@gmail.com

Keep knitting and crocheting!!

Contest Results!

2011-05-30T08:16:00.001-07:00

FINALLY I sat down today and drew names for our contest. Actually, my daughter's best friend Mary drew the names and we have 7 winners! As you may remember, our contest actually ended in the beginning of April - sorry for the delay! Here are our winners, in no particular order:

- Lynn in GA
- Linda in CT
- Lorraine in SC
- Nancy K
- Sweezer
- Alicia (AmGoth) in NJ

Congratulations! We have everything from yarn to patterns to books to share and I will be contacting the people who are donating our prizes over the next few days.

This is what I need from the winners: email me with your full name, home (shipping) address, your email address, and a preference for crochet or knitting in case you get a pattern. I need this info asap so we can get the prizes to you! In most cases I have your address, but email me this info just in case. (knitsforneeds@gmail.com)

Thank you for participating and for continuing to do all you do to help people in need. That is what Knits For Needs is all about! Thank you also to the people who are donating prizes - your support of our organization is so appreciated.

Also, check out our new fan page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Knits-For-Needs/225048020841259 Our old FB group will be archived soon and all members will be lost, so join us on this new one!

New Donation

2011-05-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hello!! Yes, I am still alive... LIFE getting in the way of KFN right now, but thanks for keeping it going, and I will get more on the ball asap. Contest results are belated, but upcoming.

Thank you to Linda in CT for donating 1 blanket, 5 scarves, 6 hats, and a monetary donation to help with shipping!

Go KFN!! Have a wonderful weekend!

New Donations

2011-04-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hello! It has been awhile since I updated the blog. I've been super busy with work and finally have a chance to catch everyone up on the goings-on of KFN!

We have many new donations to thank people for:

- Alicia and her mother: 38 hats, 3 blankets, 1 sweater, and 1 scarf
- quirkyvirgo: 16 blanket squares
-Lorraine in SC: 4 hats, 2 scarves, and a monetary donation
-Nancy: 8 hats, 3 scarves
- Karen in GA: 3 hats, 1 shawl, and 3 scarves

Thank you very much for all you do for people in need!! Remember, not all of these items come directly to us in Atlanta. Some of the items are ones that our members have donated to places. If you are knitting and/or crocheting and donating some of your things, let us know!!

Our current count for 2011 is: 269! Keep knitting/crocheting!!

I plan to finalize our contest winners today, so keep posted, and thanks to everyone who entered!

Knits For Needs in Action

2011-02-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

First of all, many thanks to the following people:

Mary in GA (my mom): monetary donation (paid for all of the following shipments!)
Lynn in GA: 7 blankets, 2 blanket squares, 14 hats, 1 cowl, and 2 scarves (wow!)
Myra in IL: 12 hats, 2 scarves, 1 cute purse

Thank you all so much for your support and contributions!!! Our count of donated items is up to 183 for this year so far. Onward to 1,500!

Yesterday I spent hours and hours going through all of our things, separating them, determining where they were going, documenting, etc. I've been behind on this because, as many of you know, I just started working full-time as a pre-k teacher. I've been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, so, as you can imagine, this has been quite the adjustment for the whole family! It feels great to have finally mailed and delivered some items out, and I'm excited to share this news with you all. Here is what I shipped/delivered yesterday:

20 prayer squares to CT
23 scarves/cowls/shawls to the rape crisis center in MD
12 hats, 1 purse, 6 pairs of socks, and 10 scarves to Timothy's Cupboard in GA
4 lap blankets to my grandmother's nursing home in GA
20 squares to Janet in KY, who collects them and turns them into blankets
(about) 50 baby items to Northside Hospital's preemies in GA (forgot to count them before I boxed them up!)

Sorry for the lack of pictures.. I left my camera at school!

For more information about Knits For Needs, please join us on the following sites:
Ravelry: Knits For Needs
Twitter: @knitsforneeds
Facebook: Knits For Needs

Also, our contest is still going strong. We have about 30 people who have entered and achieved many entries into the drawing, either by tweeting about the contest, writing about us on their blog, or donating knit/crocheted items or monetary donations. The contest ends April 1 - enter today!

Thanks again for supporting Knits For Needs. I'm excited and proud of our growth and look forward to providing more and more people with hand-knit/crocheted items made with love. Thank you for volunteering your time and skills to help those in need!

KFN in the News

2011-02-20T13:50:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to report that we have a newspaper article written about us! Check it out! For the record, I did not use the word "needy" in that interview. She used that word that I can't stand. Also, she ended up focusing more on me than the charity as a whole, which I'm not crazy about. But, nonetheless, I'm excited about the fact that we were featured in the paper!

Also, there is more info about us on this blog: http://www.ewespecial.blogspot.com/

The word is getting out about KFN.. and you know what that means: we're getting bigger and able to help even more people! I love it!

Coming Together For People In Need

2011-02-13T03:44:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how I love to find things in our PO Box before? Ok, so I have. Well, won't hurt to say it again! I LOVE finding things in our box!!! Picture me sitting here with a huge smile on my face :) Other than being up at 6am on a Sunday (I can't sleep in!), I am a super happy camper.

Many thanks to Alicia in New Jersey and her mother, Lucila, for creating and donating 26 hats! Here is what Alicia said on Ravelry: "Just mailed 8 hats out to The Ships Project and 18 hats to Operation Beanies for Service Members for a total of 26 hats :) I only made 14 of the hats, my mom made the other 12." You guys rock.

Thank you also to Bonnie, also in New Jersey, and Myra in Connecticut for sending in 5 hats each.

And, last but not least, thanks to Linda, also in CT, for sending in 3 scarves, 5 hats, and a monetary donation.

Our current count for this year is 116. Knits For Needs continues to grow, which means we are helping more people! Now I just need to get on the ball and send some things out... expect a blog post about that coming up.

Our contest is going strong. Lots of people have several entries into the drawing for prizes, through either tweeting about the contest or sending things in. And one person has 5 entries for writing a blog post about us! The contest ends April 1st, so get those things in and spread the word.

I heart KFN! Happy Sunday!

Contest Time!

2011-01-30T06:02:00.000-08:00

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'!

2011-01-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-13T21:24:00.001-08:00

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!

2011-01-09T05:36:00.000-08:00

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!!!

Donate Button & Other News

2010-12-23T02:47:00.001-08:00

We now have a "Donate" button on the blog! You can donate via PayPal now, right through the blog. I finally figured out how to do it, thanks to my friend Melissa.. thanks Melissa :)

In other news, I am digging through information on how to get our charity registered and to get it tax-free. I have another friend, also named Melissa, who is going to help me with the process. I'll keep you all posted.

Warm Holiday Heart

2010-12-20T02:49:00.000-08:00

Nothing warms my heart like being around family and friends at this time of the year, but this year my heart grows even warmer when I go check our Knits For Needs PO box. There were 5 packages awaiting me yesterday!

Huge thanks to my Aunt Nola up in Michigan for donating some yarn and a sizable monetary donation... we'll keep going for a long time because of your generosity and the generosity of others who support us. Thank you so much!

Thanks also to Lorraine in South Carolina for donating 5 hats and yet another monetary donation! Myra in Illinois sent 2 scarves for the rape crisis center and 2 hats as well... thanks! And Marie in Georgia sent in 4 scarves. Thank you all so much for your support and taking the time to use your skills to help others.

The spirit of Knits For Needs is alive and well! We are up to 1,048 items donated this year :) Happy Holidays!

A Word About Monetary Donations

2010-12-17T02:03:00.000-08:00

Hello all :) I just heard from someone on Facebook who said she wants to make donations in her friends' names as Christmas gifts for them. What a great idea! If anyone else is interested in doing the same, or if you simply want to donate for yourself this Holiday Season, as of right now, we have two ways of doing that. You can donate via Paypal by going to Paypal and making a donation using our email address, which is knitsforneeds@gmail.com. Or, you can simply send a check to our address: Knits For Needs, PO Box 551, Woodstock, GA 30188.

I do not have a button for Paypal on our blog because I can't figure out how to do it :) If anyone knows how, please email me: knitsforneeds@gmail.com

Also, since we are not legally registered as a charity yet, I cannot offer receipts for your records. I do, however, guarantee that 100% of all monetary donations we receive go towards shipping and other minor upkeeping, such as renewing the PO Box. I have a separate account called "KFN" in which I keep these funds put aside for our needs. If anyone knows anything about registering as a charity, please email me. I need to start thinking about that since we are really growing!

Again, Happy Holidays!

22 Hats for Cold Kids

2010-12-16T03:38:00.000-08:00

I just sent out 22 hand-knit and crocheted hats to Cleveland yesterday. A lady who works at a pre-school up there sent me a message on Facebook asking who could help get some warm items to several kids in her school who didn't have warm things. I was very glad to help out.. this is what Knits For Needs loves to do!

More Thanks for More Donations

2010-12-11T04:25:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Bonnie in New Jersey for sending in 9 beautiful hats! Three of them are going out next week to some kids at a pre-school in Chicago who do not have warm things to wear.

Thanks also to Rhonda in Georgia for donating 2 sweet baby blankets and 6 adorable baby sweaters. These will all go to babies in need at a hospital very soon... stay tuned. Also, thank you, Rhonda, for sending a monetary donation to help with shipping costs!

Our current count of things donated to KFN in 2010 is: 1,035! How exciting to know we are helping so many people!

11 Hats for Cold Kids

2010-12-09T03:16:00.001-08:00

My kids' school has a mitten and hat tree where they hang items for kids in need this winter. I'm sending in 11 of our hats today for them to hang on it! It is currently 16 degrees here in Atlanta.. I hope they get the items quick!

Over 1,000 Items Donated!

2010-12-06T02:42:00.000-08:00

So I have some very exciting and heart-warming news to share: We've now reached 1,014 items donated to Knits For Needs in 2010!! Not only did we meet our goal of 900, but we've surpassed it significantly. All items donated go to warm up people in need, such as chemo patients, preemies, the homeless, hospital patients, and anyone else in need. I'm sending out some hats to someone in Chicago who works at a pre-school where many of the kids come in without warm clothes. I love our organization!

Tons of thanks go out to Sandi in South Dakota who took 19 hats to the homeless veterans shelter near her home. Also, thank you Cathy in Georgia, who donated 7 hats, 1 scarf, and some money for shipping. Thanks also go out to Elizabeth in Alabama for the hat she donated and to Beth in Massachusetts, who donated 21 hats and some money for shipping as well. You guys have been busy! Thank you also to all the people out there who have donated squares to be turned into blankets. I don't know everyone's names to thank you individually, but your support is much appreciated. Thank you so much for your undying support of our ongoing mission to help people in need of warm, hand-knit and crocheted items. Certainly what warms them the most is the thought that people out there care and are taking the time to make these items for them.

If you're wondering how you can support Knits For Needs, simply knit or crochet an item and send it in! Every item counts. Our contact information is on the left side of our blog. Feel free to email us with any questions or comments. We also accept monetary donations to help with shipping these items all over the United States, as well as yarn donations. Which reminds me, I have plenty of yarn to be used for Knits For Needs if anyone needs any. I ask that you pay $10 for shipping, and I'll send you a box full of yarn.

If 2010 was this big for KFN, what will 2011 be like? I can't wait! We'll set an even bigger goal and I'll bet we'll reach it. Help spread the word about KFN by tweeting about it and telling your friends. Also, a goal of mine is to have articles written about what we're doing or even be featured on the news, so email your papers and news stations about us. The more support we get, the bigger we'll grow!

Happy Holidays!

Exciting Times For Knits For Needs!

2010-12-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Holy cow, I just got back from the PO Box and we've received sizable monetary donations!! We have enough to cover this season's shipments, plus a bunch for next year!! Thank you so much to Cathy in GA, Stephanie in NJ, and Michele in VA!! You guys have made a very special contribution to a great organization of people who knit and crochet items to keep those in need warm. I almost cried when I saw the size of a couple of those checks. I love your generosity and your dedication to this charity. Because of you and because of the people who knit and crochet for us, we are making a world of difference here in the US. You guys rock!

Thanks also to Cathy in GA for sending 7 hats and 1 beautiful scarf! Our count is now 779! I feel confident that we will get to our goal of 900 this year. We've already beat our total from last year by over 100. Keep up the wonderful work!

Warm Stuff for Homeless Veterans, Homeless Kids, and Cancer Patients

2010-11-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

We have some exciting news to share! 128 knit and crocheted items that have been donated by you are going out to people in need today.

65 items are going to an organization here in Atlanta that will be using the items as Christmas presents for homeless children. My daughter and I will also be going to help wrap the presents for the children on December 18. Here is the website of the organization: http://www.childrn.org/crn_trial_4_009.htm

24 soft and comfy hats will be going to Cancer Treatment Centers of America to be given to chemo patients.

And finally, 39 warm hats will be sent to a homeless veterans center in South Dakota.

In other news, we are still in desperate need of funds... please help! I will be using the remainder of our funds to ship these items today, which means we will have no money for further shipments if we do not accumulate further funds. If we have no funds to ship with, I will take items around the Atlanta area, but I like to support people around the US, so I'm hoping to gain some funds with which to do this. Thanks in advance for all who will support this cause!

Many Thanks!

2010-11-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

If this doesn't make you feel great, I don't know what will! Read this "thanks" we got from the Rape Crisis Center:
*************
Dear Ms. Zelaya,
Thank you so very much for the box of scarves! I am speechless! They are all so beautiful and I am just so delighted and touched by your gift. Your scarves will be packaged up with a pretty ribbon and give out to either a walk-in victim, a man/woman seeking counseling for a previous/past assault or given to a volunteer when she is called out to the hospital to accompany a victim in need. All these scarves that are hand-made with loving hands, such as yours, are a comfort and a symbol of hope. Recently, a hot-line volunteer was called to the hospital center to talk with a young woman who had experienced a sexual assault. When the volunteer handed the young woman the scarf, she immediately unwrapped it, wound it around her neck and refused to remove it. I was later told that she wore it the next day when she came in for counseling. It's stories like these that make scarves like yours so valuable. Your generous gift will be a comfort; your gift will make a difference and that I can promise.

Thank you so very much
**************

In other news, thank you so much to Lorraine in South Carolina for donating 3 gorgeous and adorable baby kimonos and one baby hat. Thanks also to Cheryl in Texas for donating 9 pairs of socks, 10 hats, 2 cowls/shrugs, and 3 scarves... you've been busy! Thanks also to Cheryl for sending a generous monetary donation to help with shipping costs.

We are still in need of funds to help with shipping costs, so please, please, please consider donating, even if it is a small amount. We have a lot of items to send out this winter and we need the funds to be able to do it. You can donate via Paypal by using our email address: knitsforneeds@gmail.com, or you can simply mail a check to us. Thank you!

Our total amount of items donated this year is a whopping 713! We can make it to 900, our goal. Again, I am so proud to be working with you all on this special project to help those in need. Many thanks to all contributors and supporters!

Scarves To The Rescue!

2010-10-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

We'll be sending out some scarves tomorrow! The picture to the right shows scarves that will be sent to a rape crisis center in Maryland. The picture below shows the scarves being sent to Michigan. They will be used in a fundraiser for a girl who was badly injured in a horse accident. Thank you so much to all who contributed these special scarves for people in need! Go Knits For Needs!

New Stuff!

2010-10-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got back from the PO Box and it was like Christmas there! 4 boxes for Knits For Needs! I was so excited. Many thanks are in order.

Thank you to Kathryn in WI for donating 2 scarves, to Myra in IL for donating 3 adorable baby kimono/booty sets, to Linda in CT for donating 3 scarves and 7 hats, and to Shanda in NC for donating 2 blankets, 1 scarf, 6 hats, and some yarn as well. THANK YOU all!!!

This means our count for this year is up to 665 now! Onward to 900! Keep knitting and crocheting, and thanks so much for supporting Knits For Needs :)

Update

2010-09-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you Terri in Ohio for donating 11 hats to Knits For Needs!! Our count is up to 641 now and our goal is 900 for this year... I think we can do it! Keep sending in your knit and/or crocheted items and let's make it to our goal of helping 900 people in need in 2010. If you have any questions/comments/suggestions, please email us at knitsforneeds@gmail.com.

We are running out of funds, and we'll need them very soon so we can start sending out our things to people in need across the US. If anyone would like to donate monetarily to our cause, even if it is just 5 bucks, please just send us a check or deposit it into our PayPal account.. you just need our email address, which is listed above. I hate to ask for money.... uggg... but we'll need it. I think we only have about $15 in our account, which would only cover one shipment. Thanks in advance to all people who will help build back our funds!!

Thank you again to ALL supporters and contributors, without you, we would not work. Thanks so much, and, again, I'm proud to be working with you on this special project of helping people across the US!! Have a great day!

Contest Results

2010-07-09T05:05:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in our contest by sending in knit/crocheted items! Everyone who donated from January 1 till June 30 was entered into a drawing for prizes. For every 5 items donated, you got another entry into the drawing. I had my kids help me with drawing names and we have 8 winners!!: Melinda from PA, Michelle from PA, Lynne from GA, Shanda from SC, Terri from OH, Myra from IL, Lorraine from SC, and Alicia from NJ.

I have everyone's addresses, but what I don't have and what I need are your email addresses. 5 of the prizes are E-books of knitting patterns from one of my favorite Twitter Knitters, @fiberfool. Two people will be getting a book of knitting patterns donated by my friend Heidi, and one person will be getting some stitch markers donated by @xxferretgirlxx on twitter.. she's also on Ravelry as NinjaBunnyStudios. Thanks so much for the prize donations, guys!

Since most of these prizes are knitting related, I need to know which of you ONLY crochet so I can make sure you get crochet-related prizes.

So, to recap, for the winners of the contest, I need you to email me:

a) your email address
b) tell me if you only crochet

Our email address is on the left side of the blog. I think that is all the info I need at the moment. Thanks again to all who support and donate to Knits For Needs! Let's keep it up.. onward to 900!

New Donations

2010-07-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the picture isn't the best, I just realized, but you get the picture...we'd had over 50 items donated to Knits For Needs within the past week! Many thanks to Lynn in GA, Lorraine in SC, Myra in IL, and Shanda in NC. Your contributions and support mean a lot to me and to the people who will be receiving your items. I love working on this project with you and with all of our other members and supporters across the world! Our total for this year is 613 donated items! We're well on our way to our goal of 900.

Let me figure out how many drawing entries everyone has and I'll announce the winners of our contest with in the week. Happy 4th!

Last Day of Contest!!

2010-06-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and thank you so much for participating in our contest! You all are a very generous and giving bunch and I'm proud to be working with you on this project that is near and dear to my heart.

I have not been able to get to the PO Box in several days because my car broke down and is in the shop (it is only 2 years old!!) Can you say "Cabin Fever"?? I'll go check it this weekend with the hubbies' car and I'll post the winners soon, like within the week.

Thanks again for participating in this contest that is really a mission to provide warm things to people in need!

125 Hats For Halos Of Hope

2010-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I sent out 125 hats to Halos Of Hope, an organization that provides hand-knit/crocheted hats to chemo patients. I saw that they had a need for hats on Twitter, so I decided this would be a good opportunity for us to help some chemo patients with our items. Here are a couple pictures of my daughter and me with the hats I sent. Sierra helps me a bit with the charity so I thought I'd include her in the picture. Halos of Hope mentioned something about a press release, so I'm sending these pics to them as well. Many thanks and kudos to those who helped by sending in items!!

New Donation & Contest Reminder

2010-05-24T02:13:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to Terri in Ohio for sending in 16 prayer squares and 8 hats!

Also, just a reminder that our contest is still in full force. LOTS of things have been sent in, so the competition is strong, but don't let that discourage you from joining in! Simply send in at least 1 knit/crocheted item and you will be entered into a drawing for prizes. For every 5 items you donate to Knits For Needs, you get another entry into the drawing. I'm not sure yet, because I'm still gathering prizes, but we should have at least 5 winners. More to come about the prizes, but they'll all be knitting/crochet related.

As you know, 100% of items donated to Knits For Needs go to people in need throughout the United States, be they homeless, chemo patients, preemies, or anyone else in need.

Hats For Heads

2010-05-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Lorraine in South Carolina and to Robin for sending in a total of 14 hats and 9 skeins of yarn for Knits For Needs! Aren't the hats gorgeous? And Lorraine actually took the time to tag each one beautifully. I love these hats! And the skeins of yarn are up for grabs for people who need more yarn for their charity projects. I just ask that you pay $10 for shipping (it usually costs more than that but I just pay the rest) and I'll send you a box full of yarn.

With the 1 hat that my daughter knit for KFN and the 7 that I just donated, that means our count for this year is up to 439!

A Special Hat For KFN

2010-04-29T06:02:00.001-07:00

My daughter (12) has just finished knitting a hat for Knits For Needs! It is the first hat she has ever knit. She decided to knit it for KFN for a service project for Beta Club at school. I'm so proud of her :)

A Blanket For Kyle

2010-04-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I sent 50 blanket squares to Melinda, a Ravelry friend, for a blanket she is making for a little boy who was just diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is a brain cancer common in children. I love that Knits For Needs loves to do things like this for people, and I'm so lucky to be working on this mission with you all. Thank you Melinda for doing this for Kyle. I'm sure it will make him feel very loved and supported. Thank you also to Michelle, who knit and donated the 50 squares that are making this blanket possible.

Collection for Charity GROWS!

2010-04-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

These are exciting times for Knits For Needs! We've had many donations, including a HUGE one from Alicia in New Jersey. Many thanks to Alicia and her mother for donating a whopping 56 hats, 2 scarves, about 8 skeins of yarn, some baby booties, and 50 prayer squares! WOW! You guys have been busy. Thank you so much for your dedication to Knits For Needs. Thank yous also go out to Terri in Ohio for donating 6 hats and Myra in Illinois for donating 3 hats and 3 super adorable purses that I'm sure some girls are simply going to love!

Our total for this year so far is 417! We are well on our way to 900 items, which is our goal for 2010. If you are just now starting to follow Knits For Needs' progress, please take the time to read our blog to see what we are all about. We love to donate knit/crocheted items to people in need, and YOU can help! Every donation counts.

Also, we are currently looking for donations of prizes to award our contest winners. Do you own a shop and would you be willing to donate stitch markers? Knitting needles? Any other possible prizes? We will also accept monetary donations to help with the prizes as well as for shipping costs. We have a PayPal account where you can donate money to our wonderful, charitable organization. You just need our email address: knitsforneeds@gmail.com

Thank you for reading our blog, and have a wonderful day! Thank you for supporting Knits For Needs!

Contest!

2010-03-29T05:03:00.000-07:00

We're having a contest here at Knits For Needs! Everyone who donates items, from the beginning of 2010 to June 30, 2010, will be entered into a drawing for prizes. For every 5 items you donate, another entry will be placed in the pot. For instance, if you donate 1 item, you get one entry. If you donate 5 items, you get 2 entries. If you donate 10 items, you get 3 entries. And so on, and so on. As always, 100% of items donated to Knits For Needs go directly to people in need.

If you'd like to donate a prize or if you have questions, please feel free to leave comments or email us anytime: knitsforneeds@gmail.com.

Please remember to include your address, phone number and/or email address, and info about which groups you belong to (twitter? ravelry? facebook?) in your packages to I know how to reach you.

Let the games begin!

2010-03-19T04:26:00.000-07:00

Knits For Needs would like to thank everyone for all the donations we've been receiving so far this year. I love going to the PO Box... it's like Christmas :) Christmas for people in need. Thank you for the donations and support!

Melinda in Pennsylvania has sent 17 prayer squares to us here in Atlanta and has delivered 14 blankets to Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. Thank you Melinda!

Michelle, also in Pennsylvania, knit 51 blanket squares and 2 scarves for Knits For Needs with yarn that her grandmother left when she passed. She thought that would be a great way to honor her grandmother, and we agree that her grandmother would approve and be very, very proud.

Elizabeth in Alabama and Whitney in Indiana together sent 3 scarves. Thanks guys!

Lynne in Marietta, GA knit and donated 35 hats and 3 scarves! Wow! I also had the chance to meet Lynne last weekend as I was bringing her more yarn. I wish I could meet all of you. Lynne and I are going to a meeting of Twitter knitters (and non-Twitter knitters) this Sunday, March 21, at 12:30 at Rare Purls in Duluth. If you're an Atlanta knitter, think about coming out to join us!

If I have forgotten to mention someone, PLEASE let me know. I do forget things now and again. Our email address: knitsforneeds@gmail.com. I think some of our Ravelry members have donated many items and I counted them on our total count, but forgot to write down the individual donations...sorry! Let me just send out a big thanks to Sweezer and GennyLynn on Ravelry for all you do. GennyLynn has been receiving many blanket squares. Thank you all for sending them and allowing her to make blankets for people in need. Our Ravelry group is really active so if you don't belong, join us today!

Our total count of things donated to Knits For Needs so far just in 2010 is: 289!! As you know, 100% of items donated to KFN go directly to people in need through homeless shelters, food banks, hospitals, etc. Keep the donations coming.. onward to 900!

Timothy's Cupboard

2010-02-09T04:30:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, and thanks for reading this latest update about Knits For Needs. If you are new, please take some time to read about all the wonderful things we've been up to in the past year, including donating 634 items to people in need in 2009! Our current count for 2010 is 48 and our lofty goal for this year is 900 items. If you are donating on your own in the name of Knits For Needs, please let me know and I'll include your items in our count.

Last week I had the honor of donating (you're going to kill me for not counting the exact number) about 25 hats, 4 crocheted amigurumi animals, and about 10 scarves to a church right around the corner from my home in Woodstock, GA, just north of Atlanta. The church is called Timothy Lutheran Church and is near and dear to my heart because all three of my children attended their preschool. What you see in the picture is not the church, but the tiny little house called Timothy's Cupboard, which is a food bank run by the church. In 2009, Timothy's Cupboard fed a total of 2,903 children, 8,277 people, and 2,433 families in the Cherokee County area in which I live. I called them a couple weeks ago to see if they might be in need of knit/crocheted warm things, and they said a resounding, "YES!". When I took the items (pictured) to them last week, I can't tell you the looks of amazement and appreciation I saw on their faces. They were amazed at our wonderful group of people and asked for more information about us and also mentioned they would not only get the items out immediately, but they'd need more. Needless to say, I will be bringing them more items soon as well as all of our contact info, including this blog.

Here is a not-so-great picture of me resembling Santa on my way to drop off the items at the church. Also pictured are some of the items that were donated. After this picture was taken, I found a bunch of adult hats that I wanted to include but then forgot to take of pic of everything altogether. I must get better at documenting all of this!

Below is a random picture of a hat I just finished for Knits For Needs. It was finished after the Timothy delivery, but I wanted to show it anyway because I think it is so cute! I can't wait to donate it.. actually, I guess that makes our count 49 now, doesn't it? :)

Have a great week, and please spread the word about our awesome organization, Knits For Needs!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

It has been an amazing first year for Knits For Needs, and I thank every one of you for your support and contribution to this wonderful charity that, a year ago, was just an idea sitting in my head. Our goal for 2009 was to collect and donate 500 items and we weren't sure we'd be able to do it. In August, we were at 324 after receiving a huge donation of 120 hats from The Crochet Guild of America, and we were wondering if we'd ever make it to our goal, although 324 is quite an accomplishment! On November 16, we were at 405 items, and then, as if everyone came together to make sure our goal was reached, not only did we reach our goal of 500, but we soared to a whopping 634 items donated in 2009! Woo hoo - 634!
Knits For Needs thanks everyone who has nurtured this project into a huge, loving charity that is made up of giving people throughout the entire world. You should feel very special for using your time and talents to help those in need across the United States. Not only do we bring a bit of warmth to the people we donate to, but we send them a message of hope and love. Someone, somewhere took the time to knit or crochet something very special for them, and that may very well have been the only gift they received this year. You deserve a pat on the back for your contributions to Knits For Needs, be they knit/crocheted items, monetary donations, yarn, or just plain support. I am proud to be associated with you all and wish we could all sit around and knit and crochet together :) If you're around Woodstock, GA, let's get together!

Looking forward to 2010, I hear by announce our goal is going to be 900 items this year! I know we can do it. We overshot our goal for this year and we are growing by leaps and bounds. 900? Piece of cake :) That does NOT include our total for 2009. So that means that by this time next year, if we reach our goal, we would have donated over 1,500 items to people in need. Let's go for it! Shanda in North Carolina has been the very first to donate in 2010, making our current total for this year 11. Thank you Shanda and all who will contribute their time and talents to Knits For Needs in 2010.

Also, there is something new I am going to suggest to you all who love Knits For Needs as much as I do: let's promote it like crazy! Twitter it, Facebook it, email news channels and newspapers about what we are doing. Make sure you send them our blog address.

Let's make 2010 even bigger! Thanks to all!

Meridith Zelaya

Paypal Account

2009-12-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

Knits For Needs now has a PayPal account. Anyone wishing to donate money to our cause, pay for shipping for yarn, etc. now can simply go to PayPal and send us money there. Apparently you only need our email address: knitsforneeds@gmail.com

Yarn Galore

2009-12-23T05:29:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Erin and her sister who donated 2 huge boxes and 4 big bags full of yarn! There must be about 150 skeins in there! Check out these pics of the yarn they donated.

Ok folks, this means I have a closet packed FULL of yarn that I'd love to get out to you all who knit for Knits For Needs. Please let me know if you are interested in paying $10 for shipping to receive a box full of yarn. I have plenty to choose from.. just let me know what types/colors you like. Of course, since this yarn has been donated to Knits For Needs, it may only be used for KFN projects. Email me! knitsforneeds@gmail.com

In The Spirit Of Giving...

2009-12-18T09:58:00.001-08:00

Christmas has arrived here at Knits For Needs!! We have donations throughout the year, but you've really picked it up for the Holiday Season. We have many people to thank, but before I do this, let me first apologize for leaving anyone out. I'm sure I do not mention everyone who donates, but it is only because I need to get better at record keeping and thanking every single person. I write down everyone who donates and try to thank everyone, but sometimes I forget WHERE I thank them.. was it Twitter? Ravelry? Facebook? Blog? So, please be assured that Knits For Needs thanks each and every one of you so much. The time, effort, and love you put into this project is commendable and appreciated by so many people, especially at this time of the year! Also, FYI: I do not use anyone's last names, just to be on the safe side. Now lets get to some of these "Thanks":

Cathy in Atlanta: you are the bomb! 15 hats! And a monetary donation to help with our shipping costs too. Thank you so much!

Thank you to Jenny in Indiana, our friend on Twitter, for sending in 9 scarves and 1 hat and thanks also to Pam in Maine for the 10 prayer squares that will be sent to Knit Wits who attach a prayer to each and send them to chemo patients to hold as they pray.

Now, between Cheryl in Texas and Alicia in New Jersey, 33 hats were knit/crocheted!!! How do you find the time? You guys rock! Also, Alicia sent in the CUTEST crocheted stuffed animals that were crocheted by her mom Lucila, also in New Jersey. My kids absolutely love them, but of course I had to explain again that they are for those in NEED, and they certainly don't need more :) TONS of thanks to Cheryl for also sending in a very generous monetary donation! We really needed that for shipping.. thanks so much for being so generous and selfless and for also trusting me to use it for this awesome project that puts a little sunshine into the lives of so many people in need around our country.

I feel so repetitive saying THANK YOU over and over again, but I feel like I just can't say it enough! On behalf of the 566 people out there (yes, 566!!) who we gave/will give to this year: THANK YOU!!

All We Knit is LOVE

2009-12-03T04:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I heard back from The Covenant House about the items I sent a couple weeks ago. This is what she said: "We did receive the package and Thanks so very much. We plan to give the youth in their Holiday packages and will send you photographs of them wearing the hats. As usual they are beautiful and we truly appreciate the time and effort you put in to give homeless youth a warm hat to cover their heads during the cold season. Thanks again, Meredith and you will hear from us soon." Wouldn't it be great if we could get some pictures of the kids in the hats and other items so I can post them on the blog? I suppose I will need to get permission first, but I'd love to have more pics here, especially of the people we're helping.

I also heard from my contact at Children's Healthcare Of Atlanta. She said the staff has been handing out the items to the patients. I hope they like them and I hope we get more information from them soon. I'd love to hear stories about how the patients liked the items, and, again, pics would be great! We'll see.

On Tuesday I sent out two packages that I am super excited about. One is going to a homeless shelter in New Orleans called New Orleans Women's Shelter, aka: NOWS. Since we had mostly women's and children's, mainly girls, items, I looked for women's and children's shelters to donate to. My contact at NOWS sent me a small list of the individuals currently living at the shelter and tried to send an item per person, but there were some boy babies who I did not have clothing items for. I sent some knit bears in the hopes that each person will indeed receive something. In all, I sent about 15 items to NOWS.

The second box I sent was HUGE! I sent about 60-70 items to Women In Need, Inc in NY, NY. Here is some information from my contact about the 6 homeless shelters under the Women In Need umbrella: "Our shelters are all family shelters meaning that there are adults and minors in every unit. We have people and children of both genders and all ages. We serve something like 10,000 people annually, so anything you send us will be put to immediate good use. On a typical night we have 900 families either in our shelters or receiving services from us – this comes out to about 1500 children… Knitted donations of all sizes and for both genders are greatly appreciated!" Again, I didn't have many boy's/men's items, but that box was FULL of hats, scarves, a few baby sweaters, and headbands. I can't wait to hear back from them.

Our collecting and donating to people in need continues! We are an ongoing project so feel free to send in your items whenever you have time. Also, please keep in mind that Knits For Needs can only exist through the generous knitting/crocheting that our members do AND the monetary donations we receive. I'm a little nervous about not having enough money to cover our shipping costs for this winter, so any monetary donations, no matter how small, would help tremendously. I think an average shipment costs us about $9 - $12. Thanks for keeping this in mind this Holiday Season! Have a wonderful Holiday Season and may you be surrounded by loved ones!

WE HIT 400!!!

2009-11-16T14:16:00.001-08:00

I just got a message from one of our Ravelry members who donated 26 items to charities in the name of Knits For Needs!! She's pushed us over 400!!!!

Thanks everyone for your dedication and support!!!

Giving, Giving, & Giving Some More

2009-11-16T04:38:00.000-08:00

**Remember, clicking on our ads raises much needed funds for our wonderful cause, Knits For Needs... a super easy way for you to help! Thanks!!**

Thanks for coming to see a sneak-peek into the inner workings of Knits For Needs.. aka... me sitting in my hallway sifting through all of our donated items! :) A couple weeks ago I started going through everything and sorting it all into piles. What we have most of is women's and girls' hats, but we also had some blankets, a teddy bear, a bib, several pairs of booties, a shawl, several scarves, about 20 prayer squares, and two baby sweaters. Here are some pictures of the sorting process.

As you can see, it looks like a total mess, but there was a method to my madness, I assure you. In the picture to the right, you are looking at a huge pile of children's hats, some booties, and a couple blankets and two sweaters. In the other picture you can see the pile of adult hats, most of which are women's.

Look at this super-cute preemie hat, this tiny bear, and cute little bootie along with the other booties in the background! Adorable tiny baby items that will make some babies out there very happy.

So after sorting everything, I determine what is going to hospitals. I had been in touch with a lady at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and she told me they were in need of about 30 baby hats in different sizes. If the items are going to hospitals, they need to be washed because hospital patients are often very sensitive to allergens, plus you certainly would not want any germs on the items. So I very gently wash the items in the washer and dry them in the dryer on the lowest setting. All the items came out great. When I'm sure they are completely dry, I individually bag each item and tag them with a special note from Knits For Needs, which I have included a picture of, although it is a bit difficult to see. I had to take it without the flash because the flash kept reflecting off the bag :)
The box below is currently bound for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and should arrive by Monday. Included in this box are 2 baby blankets, about 30 hats, about 10 pair of booties, and 1 bib. I'm sure the recipients will love the items we've made for them and I can't wait to hear back from some of them!!

If the items are not going to a hospital or to chemo patients, I do not wash them since they really are clean anyway. (I just take extra special care with the hospital ones) These seen below should have arrived at The Covenant House in Atlanta by now, although I have not heard back from them yet. Included in this box were about 20 hats, 1 shawl, and about 8 scarves. The few men's hats I had went out in this box since most of the homeless youth they provide shelter for are
male.

Currently I am looking for women's and children's homeless shelters somewhere in the US where we can donate more hats. I have contacted several places, including shelters in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York, but have not heard back from anyone yet. I do not send out our items anywhere unless I have spoken to someone there who can assure me the items will make it into the hands of the intended recipients. We put much time, effort, and love into making these items so I make sure they get into the right hands!

Thanks for reading about the wonderful things Knits For Needs is doing! And, as always, thank you to all contributors and supporters. We would not exist without you, or if we did, it would just be me and I surely wouldn't have come up with 380 items by myself! Together, we ROCK!

348!

2009-10-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to Shanda in North Carolina for donating three baby blankets and two baby hats (the blankets are pictures to the right) and also to Jenny in Scotland for donating 10 prayer squares!! This makes our total items donated this year a whopping 348! The blankets to the right are being shipped to Melinda in Pennsylvania who is collecting blankets for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD.

On Saturday I will be delivering about 15-20 items, mostly warm hats, to The Covenant House here in Atlanta, which provides temporary housing for homeless youth.

Thank you all for your support and your time that you put into this wonderful cause. Many people wish they could make a difference in the world. Well, we ARE making a difference!

Knits For Needs IN ACTION!

2009-10-11T05:40:00.000-07:00

Knits For Needs is really making things happen! Our Ravelry group has really taken the bull by the horns and a few people are taking it upon themselves to head up some special projects for KFN.

Sandi in South Dakota is collecting and delivering items to her local Homeless Veteran's Shelter, which has had an influx of homeless veterans over the past few years and projects growing numbers. They mainly need men's hats and scarves, but could also use things like socks, slippers, gloves, and blankets.

Melinda in Pennsylvania is collecting and donating blankets to the Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, where her son receives treatment from time to time. Melinda says everything there is so white and they need COLOR! :) Blankets are really needed in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit as well as the Hemotology/Oncology Unit. All size blankets are needed and greatly appreciated! Another Raverly member has offered to collect and seam together 6in x 6in squares to make blankets to send to Melinda and Sinai Hospital.

If interested in these projects, first join Ravelry if you haven't already (its awesome!) and join our Knits For Needs group there (which is also awesome!), or you could message me and I'll put you in touch with the person you wish to contact. Email: knitsforneeds@gmail.com

Knits For Needs, as always, is working on reaching that goal of 400 items donated in 2009! I'm happy to say, I believe we are going to make it. Our count stands at around 335 and we have many people who are in the process of sending their items in. Plus, the above projects DO count in that total, of course. We are still collecting prayer squares, hats, gloves, mittens, blankets, scarves, socks, slippers, toys.... hey, anything you can knit or crochet for someone in need is appreciated! I am about to send a few hats and some fingerless mitts to a lady who just found out she has cancer. One of our Ravelry friends alerted us about her situation and this is just the sort of thing KFN loves to do, help those in need. We also will be donating to Rescue Atlanta, a homeless shelter, and possibly to NSPIRE, a homeless outreach that will actually pick up the items from my house, which will cut down on shipping costs. First I will talk to them to make sure the items WILL get into the hands of those in need. You know me, I like to be certain of that! We will also be donating to several other places throughout the US. If you have places in mind, please let me know.

THANK YOU once again for heeding our call for monetary donations to help with shipping!! And remember, clicking the ads here on the blog does earn us money. It is up to almost $40!

Have a wonderful day, and, as always, thank you for supporting our awesome cause!

5 Very Special KFN Supporters

2009-09-29T04:55:00.000-07:00

As I explained in an earlier post, Knits For Needs's greatest need at the moment is monetary donations to help with shipping and other small costs. I would like to thank four very special people for heeding our call. I know in these tight times it is difficult to part with hard earned money, but you are dedicated to our cause and I appreciate that more than you know. Thank you Mom, Grandma, Jenny in Scotland, and Cathy Carter!! Because of you, Knits For Needs can afford to send out a few packages to people in need this season. You are helping people stay warm this winter... you ROCK!

**Don't forget that by clicking on our ads you can help KFN earn money.. yes, it is that simple. We have already earned about $25 this way!**

UPDATE: THANK YOU Cheryl in Texas for the donation of absolutely stunning scarves and hats (you are very talented!) and for the very generous monetary donation!! I'm so excited to see us growing and growing!

Flooding Strikes Woodstock

2009-09-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The PO Box is fine now!! It looks like they did not sustain much damage, which is hard to believe considering all the flooding. So.. safe to send items now. Send 'em on in!

I'm sure you all have heard about all of the flooding here in Atlanta. I'm in Woodstock and we were hit hard with tons of rain. Many places we frequent are under water, including our PO Box!! The post office is across the street just to the left of this picture to the left, which is right in the same area as the pic below.

Please do not send anything for the next few days... I'll let you know when everything is in working order.

This is a picture of a gas station that is not even a mile from my house.. just down the street!

My home and family are perfectly safe. We are up high and did not experience any flooding.. just tons and tons of rain and erosion.

I'll keep you posted about the PO Box.

A Kink To Work Out

2009-09-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

Hello all!! As you know, Knits For Needs continues to grow and grow and grow, which is perfectly wonderful and I could not be happier. We have had approximately 200 skeins of yarn donated and our total number of items donated to KFN so far is 324!! We've almost reached our goal of 400 items donated in 2009. Keep sending in your items as you finish them. I really appreciate all of the loving support this special group has received.

HOWEVER, I need to discuss a current problem with you all and I'm open to any and all suggestions on how to solve it. I really assumed that with all of the support Knits For Needs has that we would receive monetary donations to help with shipping and other costs, such as the PO Box payment that is now due. My plan was to set up an account strictly for KFN and use the collected funds to help with these costs, but we have not received even one monetary donation! Do you know any friends or family members who might want to donate to a wonderful knitting charity?

I do not have Knits For Needs registered as a charity legally as of yet. I was planning to see where it went and how big it grew before I went ahead and did that, and I most certainly will as soon as I'm sure it is big enough and here to stay. In order for it to sustain itself, we will need monetary donations to help with cost. Now, because it is not officially a charity in the eyes of the government, I cannot offer a receipt for deduction purposes, but I can offer the wonderful feeling you will receive when you donate to a beautiful cause, such as a charity that donates our knit/crocheted items to cancer patients, the homeless, preemies, veterans, and other loved members of society. I can also assure you that all monies would be used for the charity and nothing else, but unfortunately I only have my "word" to give you :) And, of course, you can see all the good that we're doing by reading our blog.

I mean, I'm talking about donations of only $5 here, nothing big. Do you know anyone that could help? I'd really LOVE to see Knits For Needs grow huge and help tons of people across the country and I'm sure you all would too. Does anyone have any ideas to drum up some funds? Any ideas on how to get a sponsor? Oh, I forgot to mention also, I monetized this blog, which means there are ads on it now and we generate money per clicks on those ads, so click away :) All of this money will, of course, go to KFN.

Thanks for listening to my "schpiel" (how do you spell that?), I was really hoping NOT to make it. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all supporters and contributors to Knits For Needs! All of the donations we have received just warm my heart so much. Keep up the knitting and crocheting, and keep sending in whatever you'd like to donate to KFN whenever you can.

120 Hats!

2009-08-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

I am so proud to announce that The Crochet Guild of America has donated 120 hats to Knits For Needs! The Crochet Guild of America is a not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of crochet. Within it's membership is a group of professional crocheters who work in many aspects of the crochet industry. Among the professional members are designers, teachers, editors, manufacturers, publishers, and contract crocheters. One of our lovely supporters, named Jocelyn, told the group about Knits For Needs and they decided to donate their hats that they made at their Professional Development Day in Buffalo to our organization. All of the yarn for the hats was donated by Lion Brand Yarn, who also sponsored the event!

When I received the boxes of hats I was so excited that I couldn't wait to count them and also add them to what we have already collected. So as I sat amongst a huge pile of items, I learned that we have collected 207 items!! Now, we have already donated 117 items this year, so add these two figures together and we have a whopping total of 324 items (already donated or will be donated by end of year)!! So what does that leave us? 76? 76 more items need to be received for us to reach our lofty goal of 400 items donated in 2009. I think we're going to do it!

Fiber Arts Friday

2009-08-07T08:15:00.001-07:00

Please visit and read Fiber Arts Friday on Alpacafarmgirl's blog... Merf's Turf and Knits For Needs are listed there today! http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/

39 Prayer Squares

2009-08-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Today I'm sending out 39 prayer squares to the group Knit Wits, who attaches a charm and a prayer to each square and sends them to cancer patients, who hold their square while praying. I personally love this idea so much for several reasons. Although they are small, the message is powerful: we care about you. Imagine going through such a stressful and frightening time as chemo treatment and imagine how wonderful you'd feel if given an item that a perfect stranger took the time to create for just for you. The yarn is not important. The stitch is not important. The LOVE is the key, and the fact that you're taking the time to knit/crochet these squares, even just one, means that you do have the love for that stranger who needs some support in this very critical time in their life. I also love these squares because they are so easy and quick to work up, and they put to use those yarn scraps that you were wondering what to do with.

Thank you so much to all who have contributed to this project!! And, don't worry if you have not gotten your squares in yet.... just knit/crochet in your own time and send in when you can... no hurry. This is an ongoing project.

**Update.. I just went to send the squares and I received 10 more from Michele!!! Thank you so much! So the total that I sent in today was 49, not 39.**

Collection for Charity Still Growing

2009-06-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

MANY thanks to Jacqueline and Terri, who sent in a combined donation of 33 knit and crocheted items!!

Ok folks, I just counted our items and so far we have donated/collected 153 items so far this year!! Our goal is to get to 400 by the end of the year. Keep knitting and crocheting and sending in your things, and keep up with us on the blog or other venues so you know where these items are headed to when we start deliveries again in September. On to 400!!

If you are knitting or crocheting prayer squares, I'd like to send in a shipment to them soon, so send those in asap! I'd like to send in our first donation of prayer squares in a couple weeks, maybe 3.

Thank you all supporters, followers, and contributors!!! Without you, Knits For Needs would just be me, and I can't knit that fast :)

KFN Featured in Fiber Arts Friday!

2009-06-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Knits For Needs is featured this week in Fiber Arts Friday! I'm so excited. For every person who links their blog to the site Katy is donating a dollar to KFN! And for every 5 people, she's donating one of her handmade alpaca yarn skeins (she's a real, genuine alpaca farmer :)). Here is the really important part: Only 3 more people need to link their blog and we'll get one more skein!! Go to: http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/2009/06/fiber-arts-friday-16/ to learn more and to read our article all about our beloved group, Knits For Needs!

Birdies and Bears for Charity

2009-06-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of some things I've been knitting up for Knits For Needs. I plan to do many, many more... the birds in particular are really fun! I'll send you the pattern if you are interested in it. Both the birds and the bears are knit flat with 2 needles, which is all I can really do right now since I have not yet learned how to knit in the round.

Prayer Squares

2009-06-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

Have scraps of yarn you can knit or crochet into 4 inch x 4 inch squares? We'll take your squares and provide them as "Prayer Squares" to chemo patients. They hold the prayer squares in their hands while praying. This is a great idea.. they are simple and quick to knit/crochet up! Let's start collecting these and I'll send them to an organization called Knit Wits who then attaches a charm and a prayer to each square before sending them to cancer centers. My daughter and I have already started knitting some. Send them on in!! (more info on this is on our Ravelry group discussion board)

Ravelry Group

2009-06-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

Knits For Needs is now a Ravelry group! Join us!

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knits-for-needs

Myra Rocks

2009-05-23T11:29:00.001-07:00

Thank you Myra for sending in 12 more knit items today! They are beautiful! So.. let's make our total 109 now - Awesome! Onward to 400...

Collection Grows!

2009-05-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Catherine and Lorraine for our most recent donation of a total of 17 items for our wonderful charitable group, Knits For Needs! Here is a pic of what they so lovingly knit and donated to those in need. Look at the cute little bear! I wish I could knit something like that. It's on my to-do list :)

Mucho thanks also go out to Myra, Diana, Tracy & her mother, Cheryl, and Michelle for knitting and/or crocheting items and sending them our way. Most of theirs has been donated already to the homeless, food banks, and to chemo patients in the Eastern US.

There are several of our Twitter followers who are working on things for KFN and one person left a comment on this blog letting us know she is working on several blanket squares for us! Another lady emailed me saying she has a bunch of scarves to send and she's crocheting many more items. And can I tell you how much yarn has been donated??? Lisa Marie has sent 5 boxes, yes, 5 boxes FULL of yarn for KFN. Thank you Lisa Marie and several others for your very generous donations of yarn. Because of you we can provide a LOT of warm stuff to people in need! Now, we still have not received any monetary donations, so I cannot pay to send you the yarn as of yet, BUT if you are willing to pay for shipping (you can pay me back after you get it), I will send you a bunch of free yarn. The yarn must be used to knit or crochet items for Knits For Needs, obviously.

And now, last but definitely not least, we have donated/collected 97 items so far (since January)!! That is great! Our goal is to donate 400 items by the end of the year, so keep 'em coming. As you know, we're taking the summer (well it is summer here in the US at least) off from shipments and deliveries, for obvious reasons, but we are collecting and stockpiling as many items as we possibly can for shipments starting in September. 400 here we come!! We can do this! Again, let me know if you want free yarn.

Here is a pic of all we have collected so far. We rock!!

Email me at knitsforneeds@gmail.com any time. I look forward to speaking with you further about this wonderful organization of people coming together for the greater good. Love you guys!

Interview about Knits For Needs

2009-04-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed about Knits For Needs! Check it out.. you have to sign in to read it.. don't worry, its free:

http://loosethreadstitchers.com/Contents/Home.aspx

At the home page, click on "Meridith Zelaya and Knits For Needs" on the right.

Thanks for taking the time to do this! Let me know what you think!

Chemo Caps

2009-04-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

We donate to all sorts of people in need, so send along all of your knit or crocheted items and they will go to someone who needs them. But if you prefer to make hats or other items for chemo patients, or anyone else in a hospital, please follow these guidelines:

For hospital patients:
- items must be very clean
- items must be individually bagged
- please do not use wool
- items must be from a smoke-free, pet-free home

Here's the good news: I will wash (carefully, I promise!) your items for you if you like. If I receive items that I think would be good for hospital patients and they haven't been washed and bagged, I always wash them and individually bag them. Even if you have smoke and/or pet dander in your house, still send your things and I will take care of them.

Patterns for chemo caps:
http://www.chemocaps.com/page3.htm
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/cancercaps.html

Stockpiling for Charity

2009-04-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, now the stockpiling begins!! Since it is getting warmer out and people will be in less need for warm stuff, I think we'll hold off on shipments until, say, late September. What do you all think about this? I plan to gather as many items as I can over the summer and begin shipments when it begins getting cold once again.

Please send all items you wish to donate to: Knits for Needs, PO Box 551, Woodstock, GA 30188. Yarn and monetary donations can be sent there as well. The address is permanently on the left-hand side of our blog.

I will continue to update the blog often, so keep visiting us! I will keep you all posted on how many donations we are bringing in. I look forward to seeing tons of stuff!! Can't wait! Let's set a goal. We're at 74 items donated right now (just since Jan), I think, so how about our goal is 400 items total donated in 2009? Let's do it!

Blankets, mittens, hats, stuffed animals, scarves, hats, socks, slippers.. what can you knit or crochet? What are you willing to donate? Also, if anyone knows of an organization or group of people who are in need, please let us know and we'll add them to our project list. Would you like to donate to your neck of the woods? Let us know a good place to donate to and we'll send things. I usually search for homeless shelters and hospitals in a certain area and then I call them to see if they, indeed, are in need of warm things. Sometimes on their website they will have a wish list, which is helpful.

Email us anytime! Post comments any time! Visit our Facebook group and leave your comments please. We need your experiences posted there.

Work In Progress

2009-04-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out why that image below is so huge.. just wanted to show the tag I've been using in all of our donated items. What do you think?

Items tagged with this:

2009-04-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

Thank you!

2009-04-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'd love to send out a big, huge THANK YOU to all of our supporters and, most importantly, to those who have sent their knit/crocheted items and yarn donations!! You are supporting a wonderful cause that all of us involved are so proud of. Also, thanks to Mom for supporting us monetarily as well :) She has paid for our PO Box and some shipping costs.

As you can see on the left side over there, I have added our email address and our new mailing address. Also, please message us any time for anything, and please leave your comments!

2009-04-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

These 20 hats will be mailed out to St. Jude today! Thank you all who contributed. They are now back in their individual bags (they have to be very clean and individually bagged) and I put tags in the bags that say "Hand-knit for you with love by Knits for Needs " and included our blog address and email address. I also included "gently hand-wash in cold water and lay flat to dry". I will include these tags in everything we send now.

2009-04-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

These hats went to The Covenant House Atlanta on March 4, 2009. The director sent me pictures of the homeless youth with the hats on!!! I cried :) Thank you all who donated for this project and others!

Hats, etc for homeless

2009-04-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is me, Meridith :) This was our very first delivery of donated items. It was February 1 of this year, 2009. I took my daughter with me to put these in the hands of the homeless at Rescue Atlanta.

Brand spankin new to blogging

2009-04-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

So people have been asking if Knits for Needs has a website or a blog, so I've thinking about it for awhile and, quite honestly, I've been pretty overwhelmed because I've never done anything like this before, so bear with me! So far, we have 92 members in our Facebook group (come join us!) and we have over 200 followers on Twitter (follow us!). Now, it looks like we have a blog!!

Knits for Needs is a knitting and crocheting charity that is made up of loving and dedicated people who donate their time, talents, and knit/crocheted items to charity. So far, since our inception in late January of 2009, we have donated over 70 items to charity. We have donated to Rescue Atlanta, a homeless outreach in Atlanta, The Covenant House Atlanta, a homeless outreach for youth in Atlanta, youth chemo patients at St. Jude, Litchfield Food Bank in Maine, and homeless in Detriot via my Aunt and Uncle's church. I am so proud of what this group has done and I look forward to seeing it grow and grow so we can help more people! We are always on the lookout for people in need, so please let us know if you know of a group of people who needs warm stuff. We supply blankets, toys, mittens, hats, socks, scarves, sweaters... anything you can knit or crochet to anyone in the United States who needs love and warmth!