Here’s How Your Small Contribution Can Make a Big Difference to the Lakota People of Pine Ridge

Your charity knitting and other contributions can make a tremendous difference thanks to the Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation

The essence of knitting for charity ultimately comes down to one thing: knowing that what you’re doing has a purpose.

There’s simply nothing in the world like knowing that something you’ve created can provide a measure of comfort to another person.

When I receive questions about where a knitter can offer nearly anything they’ve knitted, I usually respond thusly:

First, I encourage them to seek out local homeless shelters. For most knitters, this is the easiest and most cost-effective way to help people in need.

Second, if for whatever reason their local shelter doesn’t take knitted donations? Consider donating to the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation: Working with Locals to Make Life Better

Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation’s mission is to make life better for the folks of Pine Ridge. This group works closely with schools and social service organizations directly on the reservation to meet its most pressing needs.

The Pine Ridge Reservation is one of the most heavily poverty-stricken populations in the United States. As the website says in its introduction:

“These organizations, always understaffed and underfunded, struggle in turn to serve thousands of children, women and men in dire need. Please do not underestimate the importance of a small donation.Your contribution, sent directly to a reservation organization – even if only a single pair of socks for a child who has none – makes a huge impact when combined with many others.”

“Your contribution… makes a huge impact when combined with many others” is one of the most basic tenets of charity knitting, of course!

At times, any one of us might feel like our donations are small and meaningless. But this is when we must remember that when combined with many others, we can play a role in making the world a better place!

And for the Ogala Lakota people, your donations will definitely make their world better.

For more opportunities to help the Pine Ridge Reservation, take a look at For the Children of Pine Ridge (knitting for children) and Afghan Squares for Pine Ridge Reservation (knitting squares that are sewn together and sent to needy families at Pine Ridge).

How You Can Help the Ogala Lakota People

Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation has an incredible website, one of the best I’ve seen. Right on the front page you’ll see the many ways you can make a difference.

Of course, most obvious to us charity knitters is the opportunity to knit. You can find a large assortment of links to knitting and crochet patterns on their “Crochet, Knit, Sew” page. 

This page also lists where you can send items. The service organizations listed are the ones who collect these items directly. FoPRR’s role is to keep track of reservation needs and make others aware of those needs.

(Please note that you can always find the shipping addresses of the organizations on this page.)

You’ll find many other ways you can help the Reservation on the home page. These include donating school supplies, arts and crafts supplies, and books, along with helping with utilities.

Do be aware that Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation cannot let you know if the reservation has received your donation. That’s because they are not located on the reservation itself.

Reservation service organizations receive many boxes of donations every month, and they are not able to confirm receipts. The best way to confirm receipt is through UPS or FedEx tracking. Or, if you use USPS shipping, you can purchase proof of delivery.

Anyone eager to ease the need of a desperately poor region can help this group of people. And if you love to knit, you couldn’t find more opportunities to make a genuine difference!