Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Crafting for Charity - a database

One of the charities I've often mentioned is Warm Woolies. Nope, no link to the website this time. Due to circumstances beyond their control involving impediments to getting the woolen goods where they are needed, among other things, they plan to cease operations on December 24th, 2009. It must have been a heartbreakingly difficult decision. They have provided more than 35,000 articles of warmth since they started about 8 years ago.

One result of this is there are a very large group of knitters and crocheters looking for places to donate their knits.
Some have been crafting for more than one charity all along, and will just increase their work for the alternate charity, others need to find another place that will accept woolens.
Some have been giving overseas, others wish to give closer to home.

In the resulting discussions, there have been many worthy charities mentioned, too many for me to keep track of, so I have decided to begin a list/database of charities who accept crocheted and knitted donations, for my own use, and hopefully for others.
On this list will be:
-The name of the charity
-If they accept wool, acrylic, or both
-Who they serve
-articles needed, and sizes they need them in
-A website with detailed needs described
and a field for any other details that should be mentioned (for example, before knitting for The Ships Project, you need to join the Yahoo Group to get the details)

Included will be smaller charities serving specific locales, a new women's shelter just opening in Maine, for instance.

After I have a substantial number (maybe the first 20 or so) I will be making this file available here on my blog, permanently, and updating it as new info comes in.
If anyone reading this has a charity they know about they would like to be on the list, please drop me a line at ottergal @ comcast dot net.
I will need to have a link to a web page with specific needs listed. I have found some heavily evangelical Christian sites who rightly or wrongly use the opportunity for saving souls of site visitors, that is not what I wish to include.

In the meantime, here is a wonderful resource, listing pages of places needing our help, sorted by type of help.
THE GREATER GOOD WIKI PAGE OF CHARITIES

3 comments:

Lynx said...

excellent idea, wish someone would have come up with this sooner! Never too late, though...

I take it that your first listing will be the one for the elders on the reservation? (the one that my brain fog is preventing me from recalling the name)...

now to go look up some charities to send you for the list!

Kym said...

Great idea! Do you mind if I mention this on my blog?

AlisonH said...

Oh good, I see that afghan for Afghans made the top 10; it's in my top #1. I'm sorry this other group is closing down, though!