Donating Handmade Creativity

[Harriet]

Here is a flawed collection of knowledge of the charity organizations out there who request handmade creativity help. It will by no means be complete at any time!

Donations of handmade creativity

Crochet and Knitting –
There are so many organizations that request these items that everyone owes a debt of gratitude to Bev at
Country Cottage who updated her HUGE comprehensive listing, new for 2011. Wow. (Where organizations also mention they accept donations in sewing categories, I did not duplicate. So there may be info at Country Cottage for those who sew.)

Children's Clothing -
Dress A Girl Around the World is the Hope 4 Women International project that hopes to get handmade dresses into the hands of girls who may have no appropriate clothes, in disaster areas such as Haiti, Phillipines, Malawi and Uganda. Instructions for pillowcase dresses, tee-shirt dresses for teen girls, dolls, and boy's pants made from adult tee-shirts are given. ("Please add purchased panties if you can.")

Quilts -
the Wrap Them In Love charity site shows a photo of every textile (mostly quilts) they receive as a donation, many for orphanages, so it's also an accurate overview of the kinds of charity quilts being made now.

MaryQuilts is a pattern collection (list on left side) of mostly donation-appropriate quilts with fast construction. She links to Heartstrings, a group that makes mostly string-quilt donations (photo collection link left of homepage).

Lutheran World Relief is the largest worldwide provider of utility quilt to victims of overseas disasters. LWR quilts need to be about 60"x80", for cost-effective shipping. LWR needs warm quilts, so thicker battings like old clean blankets are fine.

Greeting Cards -

To benefit children
Keiki Cards sends once-a-week cheerful handmade cards to children up to age 18 who have life-threatening illnesses. Also handmade bookmarks or origami that will fit into the greeting cards. No “Get Well” cards, please.

To benefit deployed U.S. soldiers
Operation Write Home provides US servicemen and women overseas with handmade-only greeting cards. They especially need cards that have been lined inside for writing home. 4.25 x 5.5 size is greatly preferred. No glitter.

Homeless Shelters -

Sleeping Bags
My Brother's Keeper YouTube instructions show how to make a utility sleeping bag for the homeless from scrap textiles, including ties to carry as a bed-roll, ideas for small gifts to place inside as surprise helps, and how to donate locally to homeless shelters.
( or see http://www.uglyquilts.org for written explanation)

Animal Shelters -

Snuggles Project (this is a pdf) gives simple patterns on the 3rd and 4th pages here for either yarn or fabric pad/blankets for shelter animals and suggests 3 sizes. There is an explanation of how to give to shelters through their project name if you'd like.

Cage Comforter Program gives their ideas for making pads plus dog (fabric) and cat (crochet) toys for their shelter or your neighborhood shelter.