Charity Knitting for UK Military through Knit the Family

Your charity knitting for UK military can help the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund care for UK military families

I think most of my readers know that I’m American. So you might wonder why I’m promoting a group that offers the chance for charity knitting for UK military.

Not too long ago, you may have read about the HAPpy Stitchers Afghan Project.  This wonderful group knits to support U.S. troops and veterans. Well, one of my UK Facebook readers was eager to learn more. When she learned it’s a U.S. group, she felt disappointed because postage from UK to U.S. isn’t cheap!

That led me to wonder if I could find a group that offers charity knitting for UK military. I’ve always appreciated my UK readers.  And my mission here is to help knitters knit for whatever cause moves them!

I contacted the UK-based Knit for Life.  This tremendous organization brings together knitters for a wide variety of causes. I thought, if anyone could help me find such a group, they could.

Knit for Life led me to Knit the Family. So today I’m sharing this exciting opportunity to knit for UK military families.

Charity Knitting for UK Military through Knit the Family: Supporting UK Naval & Marine Families

The Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund (RN&RMCF) is the only charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to supporting children whose parents work for the Naval Services. In 2013, they began to seek knitters to work on a special initiative they called “Knit the Family.”

It’s often difficult for veterans to return to their former roles as spouses, parents, and/or offspring after their service ends. Recognizing this, RN&RMCF put together a program to help all parties learn how to make a smooth transition.

As stated on the RN&RMCF website:

…The charity is focusing on the importance of knitting families back together when one of the parents returns from active military service. Central to the initiative will be a support handbook aimed at providing practical help and guidance for the family in helping to overcome the effects of PTSD and OSR (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Operational Stress Reaction).”

You might be wondering where knitting comes in. You’ll find a hint right in the name of the initiative: little knit dolls.

How You Can Help with Charity Knitting for UK Military

These knit dolls symbolize knitting the family together during what can be a tough transition time. As the website states:

The charity is planning to distribute the book with the little knitted dolls that depict a generic parent and child holding hands to symbolise the importance of ‘knitting’ families back together…. But to do this they need volunteers to knit the small dolls.”

Photo: Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund

RN&RMCF Assistant Director Clare Scherer was really excited at the idea of finding a larger pool of knitters for this project! In her e-mail to me, she said, “We had many people knit us our families and we are always happy to receive more – particularly from experienced knitters who can adapt the patterns in the book to make male/female adults and male/female children.”

Photo: Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund

If you find the idea of this initiative as exciting as I do, I’d like to encourage you to visit the RN&RMCF website. On their Knit the Family page you’ll find a great deal of helpful information. This includes patterns, the book, and shipping information.

I find this a beautiful, life-affirming way to help UK military families. So UK knitters, here’s your chance to take on charity knitting for UK military!