Someone requested information (a long time ago, sorry I’m slow!) on charities that utilized knitters, crocheters, and other crafters. Here is a list of what I’ve found. I’ve found many and I don’t want to be overwhelming, so we’re going to separate this into a few blog posts. This post will focus on making blankets, hats, and scarves. I am also going to do my best to ensure that all of these charities and their sites are up-to-date. Many charities become defunct, but their websites remain up.
This charity has been around since 1991 (it’s as old as I am!) They donate knitted or crocheted blankets to women’s shelters, nursing homes, churches, homeless shelters, children’s hospitals, and a lot more. Their primary focus seems to be blankets, but they also accept hats, scarves, and pretty much anything that falls under keeping someone warm. If you don’t have enough time to make something, you can simply make a square and send it in. They use squares donated by multiple people to create blankets.
Knots of Love was founded in 2007. Their focus is on children and adults undergoing chemotherapy. They are looking for kid and adult size hats and infant sized blankets. Because these are used for medical purposes, please make sure to look at their list of approved yarns before starting your project.
Since 2008, Knit-a-square has been providing children in South Africa with blankets. All you have to do is follow their instructions and knit a square that can be added to a blanket.
There are many chapter of Project Linus all over the country. It started in 1995 and the charity provides blankets to hospitalized or traumatized children. Due to the fact that many of these are used for children in ill health, there are some requirements including, all blankets must come from non-smoking homes, and the blankets can not come in contact with animals.
Binky patrol provides blankets for anyone that needs them. Foster homes, hospitals, emergency shelters, etc. are provided blankets. I like that this charity is also very accessible to anyone who wants to start a chapter in their area.
Knitting Rays of Hope is a blog based charity. It seems to be run by one person. She takes hats for all ages and donates them to hospitals.
A charity that sends blankets, sweaters, vests, hats, and socks to those in need in Afghanistan.
This charity was started in 2004 and continues to this day to provide comforting quilts to veterans. There wasn’t a whole lot of specifics as to the recipients that I could find. So, I’m unsure if it’s for all veterans or strictly for wounded veterans.
This charity has been providing baby blankets to parents who have suffered infant death, still birth, miscarriage, etc since 1996. I was going back and forth on including this becauseI can’t tell if the site is up to date. I looks dated, but that could just be the skill level of the site runner. Check the state chapters section to see if there’s someone you can contact for your state.
This is another one that I’m not entirely sure is up to date. It’s been around since 2001 and provides hats to those in chemotherapy. I can’t find anything more recent than 2015, but the fact that the well-made site is up and running means that it could still be active. You’ll have to use their contact form in order to see if they’re still accepting hats.
Well, I think I’m going to end this list here and start a new one for another blog post. If none of these appealed to you, there is a lot more on the way!
Never Fear Crafting 