How to Help Needy Children & Adults Stay Warm on the Chilly Plains

Minnesota and North Dakota can be bitterly cold; your hats, mittens, and scarves are just what is needed to keep needy folks warm

Marybeth Potts was accustomed to providing items for her local mitten tree. Then, one year, it didn’t pop up again.

Some folks would have shrugged and carried on. Not Marybeth; she investigated and found that the annual drive had been discontinued due to budget constraints. (Sadly, this is very common.)

Of course, the same woman who wanted to know why the mitten tree had disappeared decided that she was just the person to fill that need. Her efforts, along with those of other knitters she contacted, became a charity she called Nimble Fingers on the Prairie.

In 2008, the first year of Nimble Fingers’ operation, it supplied 113 donations across the state of Minnesota. At the end of 2022, that total reached nearly 300,000!

In mid-2022, Marybeth retired from the active operation of Nimble Fingers. However, the organization lives on, with three mighty ladies who continue to carry on its mission. Their names are Rebecca, Linda, and Mary Ann.

What Nimble Fingers Needs

Nimble Fingers has always requested mittens, hats, and scarves. Rebecca and Linda, who run a sister organization of sorts called Hats & Mittens, offer these all over Minnesota.

Mary Ann is Nimble Fingers’ North Dakota distributor. She sends hats, mittens, and scarves all over the state, to many service organizations including the following:

• Salvation Army
• Dakota Boys & Girls Ranch
• Missions on the Margins
• Community Action-Bismark
• Carrie’s Kids
• Closet 701
• Sitting Bull College Daycare
• Head Start (all 8 districts of Standing Rock Reservations)

How You Can Help the Nimble Fingers Mission

If you love to knit, of course, you can create warm and cozy hats, scarves, and/or mittens. According to Rebecca, they are most always in need of these items for ages 14 to adult. So while they will take all sizes, these are the ones that will fill the greatest need!

Items made with wool and/or acrylic are most welcomed.

If you live in Minnesota, you can find a drop-off location for your donations here. If you don’t live in Minnesota and wish to send a donation, you can send them to Rebecca at the mailing address listed on this page on the Hats & Mittens website. You can also call or email her at the contacted information listed there, if you have any further questions.

If you live in North Dakota, you can find Mary Ann’s mailing address at this Facebook post and send your donations there. You can find her phone number there, as well, if you have any questions for her.

Nimble Fingers on the Prairie is waiting and eager to receive your donations. If you live in this area, or if you have a heart for those who live there, you’ll find Nimble Fingers to be a wonderful organization to partner with!