Organize a Knitting Charity and Help Others
If you love knitting, being around other people, and helping those in need, you’re the perfect candidate to organize a knitting charity! Don’t be intimidated and don’t sit back and wait for others to do it. With a few simple steps, getting started with your knitting skills and helping others at the same time is a breeze.
How to organize a knitting charity
First, make some decisions. For instance, how big do you want this charity to be? Thinking of just a few good friends meeting once a week and working on a few projects a year? Or thinking big… as many people as possible, knitting as much as possible, and donating as much as possible? Either way it isn’t too difficult.
Step #1 — Decide on a project
Search this site and choose a charity. Knitting for Charity provides information on many good and worthwhile knitting charities that can use your invaluable skill. Knit for kids, knit bandages for leprosy patients, knitting dolls for children who have lost their parents to AIDS, knitting blankets, knitting chemo caps, knitting baby blankets for preemies. The list is seemingly endless. Look over all of these great charities. Choose one whose projects are “doable.” In other words, easy enough for knitters of all skill levels and easy enough that knitters won’t get discouraged before they finish their project. — Does the charity have clear details on what they need? — Does the charity include free charity knitting patterns? — Does the charity explain what materials are acceptable? — Does the charity have clear instructions as to where to send the finished project? — Does the charity explain how to ship the donations? These are all questions you need answered before choosing a knitting charity for your organization.
Step #2 — Choose a location
Decided on having just a small group of friends knit for a charity, this is easy. You can offer your home once per week or suggest rotating homes on a weekly basis. The person who opens their home to the knitting group each week can also provide simple snacks to make it more fun. If you’ve decided on a large group, handle it one of two ways. Find a building that is big enough for your group to meet together or have the group work independently and bring their finished projects to a set location for collection.
Step #3 — Recruit knitters
When recruiting knitters you have three options: 1. Knitting with a small group of friends. Simply call your knitting buddies, explain what you want to do, and set a date and time. 2. If you’ve decided to have a big group meet together, find a location where you can meet weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Setting up a schedule where several people bring snacks to share with the group each meeting would also be a good idea. Write up some flyers describing what your organization is about, what project is being knitted, and when and where you’ll be meeting. Post these flyers around town, at craft shops, at knitting shops, churches, and libraries. 3. If you’ve decided on a large group working independently, even more simple. You can skip finding the location and skip scheduling snacks. Simply distribute flyers but include information telling where the knitters need to drop off their finished projects. Once the projects are dropped off, send them to the knitting charity. See…with a little planning and thought, it’s simple to get a knitting charity of your own off the ground.