Handmade for Charity

There are many organizations that are interested in receiving handmade items to be given to people in need of a bit of support. Anything you can contribute will be greatly appreciated. While your individual contribution may seem too small to matter, if many of us contribute in our own small way it adds up. And what we do does make a difference to someone.

You can probably find a number of organizations near you that would be willing recipients of your efforts.

• Contact your local hospital and ask for the volunteer coordinator.
• Look in the Yellow Pages under "Social Services Organizations" (for family and social services groups) and under "Crisis Intervention Services" (for women's shelters). Call and ask how you can help.
• Contact a local nursing home, hospice, or shelter.
• Ask friends and coworkers if they know of an organization that can use handmade items.
• Ask your minister/pastor/priest/rabbi/religous leader.
• Ask at the local school; some there will likely know of organizations that provide assistance to families in need.
• Ask your local police or sheriff's department or city hall.

For tips on choosing materials, assembling and finishing items, please visit my Tips on Making Items for Charity page.

If you know of a link that you think should be on this list or have any suggestions about this page, please .

Shortcuts to: Charities Accepting Handmade Items, Other Lists of Charity Links, Charity Resources.

Charities Accepting Handmade Items

• Adopt-A-Native Elder accepts handmade knitted scarves, socks, caps, mittens and lap blankets for the elders. Childrens mittens, caps and scarves are collected for Christmas stockings.
• afghans for Afghans is a humanitarian and educational people-to-people project that is sending hand-knit and crocheted blankets and garments to the people of Afghanistan.
• American Angels offers many ways to support our soldiers/sailors and their families.
• Afghans for Angels is a volunteer organization that make and distribute blankets to hospitals. The hospitals give the afghans to parents who have lost an infant through miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death.
• Angels For Hope provides crocheted angels to severely injured and/or chronically ill people and their caregivers as a reminder that they are not alone.
• Artists Helping Children needs volunteers to knit, crochet or sew. They need bags to put art supplies and cuddley animals ins and anlso need handmade cuddley animals, dolls, puppets and other handmade toys.
• Binky Patrol distributes handmade blankets to children who are sick, abused or in foster care.
• Caps for Kids is sponsored by the Craft Yarn Council of America. Some patterns can be found on the CYCA Caps for Kids page and more are at Stitchin's Caps For Kids Page. In Kansas City, one of our local independent yarn stores was the local coordinator/collection point (until the store closed). Check with yarn stores near you to find a local Caps for Kids contact if you have an aversion to writing and snail mailing a letter.
• Care Wear provides wearing apparel for premature and low birthweight infants in neonatal intensive care units.
• Charitable Crafters Based in Duluth, MN, Charitable Crafters seeks to inspire crafters to make items for charitable donation.
• ChemoCaps - knit chemocaps and donate them to a cancer treatment center near you.
• Children in Common is a charitable program of Adoptions Together, Inc. It provides support for adoptive families and for children who remain in orphanages. Donations of hand knit sweaters, vests, socks, hats and mittens and handmade blankets are welcomed.
• Christmas-at-Sea seeks volunteers to knit seafarers caps, scarves and more. Sponsored by the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey.
• Cozee's. Cozee's donates lapghans (lap-sized afghans) to children and adults in need.
• Cubs for Kids seeks knitters to make sweaters, hats and scarves for stuffed bears. Based in White Plains, NY, USA. The bears are shipped to shelters throughout the country.
• Cuddles supports families dealing with the loss of their baby. Blankets, gowns, and hooded wraps are needed. This group is based in the United Kingdom.
• Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts needs handmade baby blankets for Welcome Baby baskets.
• Gifts for the Unborn seeks knitted, crocheted or sewn baby booties.
• Heartmade Blessings is a world-wide group that provides handcrafted items to people suffering a loss, tragedy, or going through a rough time.
• Hearts and Hands seeks to provide comfort and meet needs of people needing to know that someone cares.
• House of Dreams seeks donations of handcrafted articles for its' annual Pretty Kitty Holiday Craft Bazaar. House of Dreams is a non-profit, all volunteer, no-kill cat shelter in Portland, Oregon.
• Heartmade Blessings Operation Purple Heart sends comfortghans to family members of those military men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
• Hugs for Homeless Animals, an organization dedicated to homeless and displaced animals. The H4HA Snuggles Project is devoted to providing blankets to make animals more comfortable in their cagess at animal shelters.
• Knit for Kids donates handmade sweaters to needy children around the world. Suggested knitting and crochet patterns are available on their website. Knit for Kids was started in 1996 by readers of Guideposts magazine.
• Knit Your Bit. Knit a scarf to help the National WWII Museum honor World War II veterans.
• Magic Mittens and Mufflers for Mongolian Children sends hand knit or crocheted mittens, gloves and scarves to agencies that provide services to children in Mongolia.
• Miracles Happen seeks crocheted, knit and sewn items for newborn babies.
• Mother Bear Project makes knitted and crocheted teddy bears to provide comfort and hope to children.
• Newborns in Need, Inc. Accepts handmade baby clothing, quilts, blankets and toys to distribute to needy families with newborn babies. The site has a few basic patterns and links to some others and guidelines for sewn baby clothing.
• Online Angels spreads love one box at a time by distributing a variety of items.
• Operation Toasty Toes sends hand knit and crocheted items to America's troups overseas. Only patterns supplied on the Operations Toasty Toes website should be used. There are patterns for machine knitters.
• Pathways to Spirit seeks knitted hats, booties and socks for newborn Lakota babies. (Click on projects and scroll down to One Heart One Mind.)
• Paula's Knit and Crochet Charity is making an afghan for a Project Linus chapter in each state and would like donations of yarn and afghan squares.
• Pine Ridge Reservation needs a variety of warm clothing, blankets and baby items. Website inclludes a variety of pattern links.
• Prayer Shawl Ministry. Make shawls for people needing comfort.
• Precious Pals^TM program was begun by the Knitting Guild of America to provide immediate comfort to children in crisis. Stuffed animals with knitted outfits are provided to Police departments all over the United States.
• Preemie Afghans for Charity provides handmade afghans to infants in the neonatal intensive care units in southern Louisana.
• Project Hope Afghan makes afghans for pediatric patients at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas.
• Project Linus provides security blankets to children who are seriously ill or who are in traumatic situations. The ideal blanket size is 40" x 60". There are many local chapters across the country.
• Quilting for Orphans is a program of Lifeline of Hope. They seek quilts and blankets for orphan children.
• Quilts from Caring Hands. This group in Oregon's Williamette Valley area meet in Corvallis, OR to make quilts for children at risk.
• Quilts of Valor - quilts for wounded servicemen and women.
• Sheila's Shawls and Paul's Scarves makes shawls and scarves for people affected by domestic violence.
• The Ships Project sends handmade hats, slippers, cool-ties and cool-heads to U.S. service men and women around the world.
• Socks For Soldiers knits socks for soldiers serving in the Middle East.
• Stitch for a Cause knits, crochets, sews, and quilts blankets and infant apparel for local children's agencies. Based in Louisville, KY, USA.
• Stitches From the Heart sends handmaded clothing and blankets to premature babies across the nation. Based in Santa Monica, CA, USA.
• Tiny Miracles a quilt donation drive for Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Michigan.
• Tiny Stitches is based in Gwinnett County, Georgia and provides basic layettes to disadvantaged newborns and preemies in north Georgia. They also provide burial ensembles to families who lose an infant.
• Ugly Quilts for the Homeless, My Brothers' Keeper.
• Victoria's Quilts and Victoria's Quilts Canada. Quilts for cancer patients.
• Warm Up America (WUA) works with community service organizations and the American Red Cross to distribute warm, hand-made blankets to to those who need them. Warm Up America volunteers are encouraged to donate their finished blankets to a local organization (or a local chapter of a national organization) near where they live or work.
• Warming Families -- Warming the homeless "families" of the world, one warm item at a time! A volunteer project providing blankets and warm items (hats, mittens, etc.) to homeless and domestic violence shelters. Free patterns and family charity work information can be found on their website.

Other Lists of Charity Links

• Charities page at the Crochet Network, an Internet group.
• Crochet Cabana has preemie afghan patterns.
• Charity Crafting Links page at Bev's Country Cottage. A lot of charity listings and links to patterns.
• Crochet for Charities Links at StarGazer's World.
• Good Causes (crochet) and Knitting Charities at BellaOnline.
• Knitting Charities: Knitting for a Better World at Interweave Knits.
• Sewing Charity is a directory of charitable sewing, knitting and crochet projects.
• Wool Works Resources - Charities lists organizations that accept donations of finished knitted goods or knitting supplies. Extensive list is organized by state and includes many groups with no web site. The Wool Works site also has patterns.

Charity Resources

• Charitable Sewing page of the Home Sewing Association has some patterns for charity projects.
• Calming Seas has a list of pattern links organized by type of pattern (afghans, children's clothing, etc.). This is the new home of "C" is for Crochet (seafore.com).
• Patterns for Charity from p2 designs has a variety of free patterns.
• Save the Dolls Marilyn is not looking for donations, but is interested in helping others if they like to sew and love dolls. Turn well-loved dolls into attractive gifts to donate to children.
• SLK Designs has original crochet patterns for infants.
• Some Patterns We Use at the Project Linus of Metro Kansas City web site has links to afghan, quilt, and preemie baby patterns.
• Tips on Making Items for Charity

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