Knit for Hats for the Homeless and provide warm knitted items for homeless folks in New York City.
John Carroll was a young man with a mission.
Once upon a time, he gathered a group of friends together during the holiday season. They would wander through New York City and distribute toasty gloves, scarves, and hats to the chilly homeless folks they found.
John died in 1998, but his friends and family were determined not to let his generosity die with him.
Instead, they founded Hats for the Homeless. Then they sat down and started knitting!
At the end of the year, they handed out their warm, knit-with-love treasures to homeless citizens at St. Francis Xavier’s Soup Kitchen on West 15th Street. They’ve continued the tradition every year since.
In time, other volunteers started to contribute their creations. They began to gather new store-bought items too. In fact, brightly colored collection boxes have become a big part of the Hats for the Homeless tradition.
Clothing Homeless Folks in Dignity: Why You Should Knit for Hats for the Homeless
Think, for a moment, how cold you get in the winter. Feel the chill of the bracing wind on your face. Feel the numbness in your fingers and toes that can turn to pain when you must be outside too long.
Now imagine that same numbness, pain, chilled-to-the-bone feeling being a daily reality and a nightly nightmare. That’s life for the homeless in New York City.
Now, why wouldn’t you want to think about getting out your knitting needles and putting together a hat, a pair of mittens or socks, or a shawl for Hats for the Homeless?
Easy to Knit, Easy to Give – Offering Warmth to Homeless Folks
Most items Hats for the Homeless needs are easy to knit and don’t require much yarn. Hats, for example: a knitted cap might just use up that odd ball of yarn you’ve been wondering what to do with. A pair of mittens or a scarf won’t take up much more.
While these items won’t take much of your time (or your yarn), they help immeasurably for homeless folks. Remember that not only can they struggle to get warm in the winter, but every other part of their daily lives are a struggle, too. They often feel forgotten and uncared for.
Offering hats, mittens, scarves, and other toasty knitted items help them get warm, and there’s another benefit too. These items serve as tangible reminders that they are not forgotten and that they are worthy of someone else’s time.
When you’re desperate to be warm, you’re not likely to worry about a few dropped stitches. Nor will you care what color keeps you warm. So don’t worry about such minor issues! Sadly, there are far more homeless people than available items.
New York City’s Homeless Need Your Help
The charity focuses on the homeless of NYC. But you don’t have to live in or near New York to knit for Hats for the Homeless. Recent contributors have included knitters from as far away as Wisconsin, Florida, and California!
For more information on how to get involved, go to the Hats for the Homeless website. They most need knitted gloves, mittens, hats, shawls, scarves, and socks. Use whatever patterns strike your fancy.
Machine-washable yarn is best for your Hats for the Homeless items, because the homeless rarely have the access to the facilities needed to hand-wash their clothing. Furthermore, darker colors are preferred, since they won’t show soiling as easily as lighter hues.
Remember what it’s like to be cold in the winter? Now consider what it’s like to be cold in winter without any way of warming up. That’s why I know you’ll want to consider knitting for Hats for the Homeless!
Are you ready to knit for Hats for the Homeless? Check out Knitting for Charity, One Stitch at a Time and put together your perfect charity knitting plan!
