You already know how great it feels to give a knit or crochet project to someone for their birthday, holiday, or just-because. It’s one of the reasons you create. Why not extend the good spirits that knitting and crochet produce by donating your projects to a charity?
A quick search came back with a variety of fundraisers, nonprofits, and charitable organizations that are looking for handmade items to help others.
The knit or crochet item might be used to raise awareness for a certain cause, like knitting baby hats of different colors, red to bring attention to congenital heart defects, or purple to educate others about shaken baby syndrome. Others are more straightforward, like knitting blankets, bears, or wigs for charities that help comfort Alzheimer’s victims, children of poverty, or those undergoing cancer treatments. Many local craft groups create all year long and donate items to fundraisers like mitten trees and scarves in the park.
Check with the charity of your choice for more details. Some will accept a general variety of knit and crochet items so you can use your extra yarn and your patterns, or they may require you to use a particular type of yarn or request a donation to receive their pattern. There are organizations that even beginners can contribute to by donating simple knit or crochet squares that then get turned into blankets or other objects and distributed.
If you don’t want to make items for donation, volunteer to teach. Knitting and crocheting are skills you can teach to teens, single parents, seniors, or anyone who might benefit from a hobby that brings joy and relieves depression, stress, anxiety, or loneliness.
Local NH Groups and Chapters:
The Candia Women's Group makes caps, scarves and lap blankets for patients undergoing chemotherapy at local Cancer Centers in NH.
The national charity Project Linus provides love, a sense of security, warmth, and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need.
Local Monadnock Region FB Page
Lakes Region Community Services Crochet Group works together to create wonderful hand-crocheted and knitted items that they donate to the community.
National/International Organizations:
Knitted Squares
Warm Up America takes your donated knitted or crocheted squares to create afghans. Also accepts hats and other knitted garments.
Help some of the 1.9 million children left orphaned in South Africa from the AIDS virus. They need knitters and crocheters to create 8" squares, hats, and garments.
Active Military/Veterans
Love to knit socks? Knit a pair for a soldier serving far from home to let him/her know someone is thinking of him/her.
Helps honor WWII veterans by creating scarves to keep them warm. Many are distributed at VA centers. Lots of free scarf patterns are available on their website.
Pets/Animals
Provides blankets for small animals, cats, and dogs in animal shelters worldwide. Free patterns to knit, crochet, or sew the blankets are on their website.
Families or Seniors in Need
Create slippers to warm the hearts and toes of women and children living in shelters. Slippers can be knitted, crocheted, or stitched with a sewing machine or by hand.
Provides hand-knit and crocheted items such as scarves, lap shawls, hats, and other related accessories to those in shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices.
Children Affected By Trauma Or Illness
Hand-knit or crocheted bears provide comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations. Knit adorable bears for these kids!
Knitted, crocheted, or quilt blankets "binkies". Binkies are distributed to children born drug-addicted or ill, those who are in foster care or experiencing trauma of any kind.
Alzheimer's / Breast Cancer
Alice's Embrace provides hand-knit and crocheted prayer shawls and lap blankets to those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Volunteers knit and crochet provided patterns.
Knit soft and comfortable prosthetics for breast cancer survivors. Free “knockers” patterns are available for knitters of all skill levels.
