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You are here: Home / Knitting Charities by Recipient / Senior Citizens / How to Comfort Alzheimer’s Patients: Knit for Alice’s Embrace

How to Comfort Alzheimer’s Patients: Knit for Alice’s Embrace

Afghans/Blankets/Squares, California, Nevada, Other Illness Patients, Senior Citizens, Shawls

Knitting shawls and blankets can offer tremendous comfort to patients with Alzheimer’s

Knit for Alice's Embrace

If I can be honest with you for a moment, developing Alzheimer’s is one of my greatest fears.

My grandfather suffered from it. He was my last living grandparent, and he passed on the very day I graduated from high school.

That sounds so tragic, doesn’t it?

Yet I was far more heartbroken the day I went with some of my family to visit my grandfather in a nursing home. I saw no light of recognition in his eyes. It was obvious that he had no idea who any of us were.

The idea that I could one day lose all ability to recognize my loved ones has haunted me to this day.

Comfort for a Terrible Affliction

You might wonder how an individual with Alzheimer’s could benefit from a shawl or blanket. If you read the article posted on Maria Shriver’s blog and written by Alice’s Embrace’s founder, Diane Lewis, you’ll understand. In a nutshell, shawls and blankets bring great comfort to individuals with Alzheimer’s.

Diane wrote the following to me in an email:

The joy we have seen firsthand when we make the deliveries is quite magical.  Sometimes the recipient becomes emotional the moment we place the item over their shoulders or on their laps.  They often cannot believe it is a free gift.

Those who are not as far along in the disease really love to hear the stories behind the different names and they’re also the ones who love to hear that people from all over the country create these gifts and send them to us to give to them.  The recipients who are a bit further along in the disease maybe not verbally tell us that they love their gift, but we can tell by the way they touch it or smile when it’s placed over them.

The comfort these lap blankets and prayer shawls are providing to these dear folks is so much more than I could have ever imagined when I first started Alice’s Embrace.  Mom’s gave her warmth, comfort and helped ease anxiety and I’m seeing that this is the case for our recipients, too.”

This program operates primarily in California and Nevada. They may partner with additional yarn shops throughout the country, but for now they concentrated in these two states. Of course, you can contribute from anywhere!

How You Can Help

Alice’s Embrace has specific guidelines for the items you send.

While shawls and blankets can be made from any yarn (so long as they are washable, sturdy, and will work with their patterns), they do ask that you use one of their patterns from their website.

The reason for this is twofold: one, the names of the patterns are shared with the patients, which gives those who care for them a way to interact and connect with them.

Two, they want to ensure consistency among the patients, who might have hurt feelings if someone else has a “nicer” shawl or blanket than they do.

Some of the many Alice’s Embrace recipients with their special gifts

Be sure to carefully review Alice’s Embrace’s website, particularly the “How to Help,” “FAQs” and “Patterns” sections, so you’ll know exactly how to contribute to this wonderful cause in the best possible way.

It’s sad and unfortunate that Alzheimer’s patients tend to be forgotten and ignored by society. But by joining this cause, you can do your part to offer them comfort and love through your charity knitting.

Eager to knit for charity but unsure where to start?
Click here to sign up for my free email course, Getting Started with Charity Knitting, and subscribe to the free Knitting Nuggets Newsletter.

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Nicole

I believe there's someone who needs what you love to knit. If you'd like to knit patterns you love for people you care about, I can help!
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Last Updated: June 16, 2020 · 2 Comments

About Nicole

I believe there's someone who needs what you love to knit. If you'd like to knit patterns you love for people you care about, I can help!

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Comments

  1. Elizabeth A Kane says

    July 1, 2020 at 6:03 pm

    Just to say I live in Northumberland in England and I love your site 99% of my knitting goes to charity’s.

    Reply
    • Nicole says

      July 1, 2020 at 7:38 pm

      Thank you so much, Elizabeth! ❤

      Reply

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Do you have your ticket yet? (I just got mine!) Jo Do you have your ticket yet? (I just got mine!) Join me and a multitude of fabulous knitters and artisans for an amazing couple of days at the @knitandescape Virtual Galentine's Day Weekend event! I'll be showing off these wonderful bonding hearts and telling you how you can use them to benefit the Mighty Miracles Foundation to help premature infants & their families. I can't wait to see you "there" this Friday night at 8 pm Eastern time!
Are you missing your in-person knitting nights? If Are you missing your in-person knitting nights? If so, let me tell you about a virtual knitting event you won't want to miss! 

The great folks at Knit + Escape are holding a Galentine's Day virtual celebration from Feb. 4 to 6. A $10 ticket will give you access to vendor virtual booths and a whole lot of free content that includes fiber demos and lectures, farm tours, charity knitting, and much, MUCH more. 

And here's a bonus that I hope you'll love: your Marketplace Ticket includes access to the Friday Evening CHARITY KNIT NIGHT, an exciting event led by Kristy Glass, where I will be a special guest. We’ll have several opportunities for participants to ask questions and celebrate the spirit of giving!

I'm going to be talking about creating Bonding Hearts and how these wonderful little creations can help preemies and their families through an amazing organization called Mighty Miracles Foundation. 

I would LOVE to see you there, so I hope you'll join us! You'll find a registration link to this event in my profile.
(Please note: the following has nothing to do with (Please note: the following has nothing to do with charity knitting. But I can't be silent any longer. If I - and Knitting for Charity - am going to be for making the lives of others better, I have to speak up.) I've been wanting to say something for well over a week. But I felt like it wasn't my place to talk. This isn't my experience. I should be listening. 
But I want to make something clear. 
Systemic racism is not a theory. It's not a kooky idea. It's a fact of life. And whether white people feel like they've benefited from it or not (I'm sure most of us feel like we haven't)... we have. 
Sure, slavery is no more. Sure, Jim Crow laws are no more. But racism? It's still very much here. And it pushes down our brothers and sisters of color every. single. day. It makes them fear for their lives, no matter what they're doing. It makes their very existence a risk. 
And I've finally realized that it's not enough for me to believe these things in my heart and go on with my life as if there's nothing more I can do. It's not enough to be proudly "not a racist." By my silence, by my inaction, I'm perpetuating a system that feeds off black and brown human beings. 
So: this is my first step. 
I discovered Brownicity.com. And there, I discovered this book. It's a workbook, actually - kind of like a course in book form. Here's what the page says about it: "This journey guide was designed to lead the ‘beginner’ through an enlightening and introspective first steps of race/ism analysis and healing. It can be used to support a group or individual’s study." I've dived in and I'm already getting an education. And I can't wait to learn more. 
We're not going to change the world in a day. Or even a week. But each of us can start taking steps to unlearn racism. (Yes, even a proud "non-racist" like me has racism to unlearn.) This doesn't have to be your book or your path. But do *something* to start listening. In the barest glimpses of social media, you're bound to find lists of books, movies, documentaries, podcasts, and so on. I've already seen more of those than I can count. (Cont'd in comments)
Proof that I've been in quarantine waaaaaay too lo Proof that I've been in quarantine waaaaaay too long. Check out the paragraph above the divider line. This is from the newsletter I sent out today that goes to over 7,500 people. 🤦
My first sock knitting lesson is LIVE on YouTube! My first sock knitting lesson is LIVE on YouTube! Link is in my profile. Comments are very welcome! #learningtoknitsocks
Spent some time this weekend recording the first v Spent some time this weekend recording the first video lesson of my spiral rib tube sock knitting class. It will be releasing very soon... who's excited? #charityknittersofinstagram #learningtoknitsocks
I've been so inspired by all the people releasing I've been so inspired by all the people releasing free help during this time of crisis. Zoos and aquariums and nature livecams all over... Broadway offering free videos of their shows... musicians offering free living room concerts...and so on. 
So I decided to offer my own kind of help. 
If you're a knitter, I want to teach you how to knit socks!

Visit my profile for the link to my video explaining what I'm teaching and why, and the supplies you'll need. 
You can subscribe to my YouTube channel for notifications, or you can subscribe to my newsletter to get email notifications of new videos. The link to subscribe to my newsletter is also in my profile. 
#charityknittersofinstagram #sockknittersofinstagram
How is everyone doing? I've got a set of socks goi How is everyone doing? I've got a set of socks going on my new Hiya Hiya Sharps, so I think I'll be good to go for a while. How about you? Are you staying home as much as possible? And, of course, what are you knitting? #KnittingTogether
So this happened. 😭 Thank God for Friday nights So this happened. 😭 Thank God for Friday nights in which there's nothing going on, so we can drive to the nearest yarn shop (40 minutes away). #SockNeedleCrisis
We voted! (Well, technically we shared a vote. Sad We voted! (Well, technically we shared a vote. Sadly, owls can't vote...even if they're hand knitted. 😆) #SuperTuesday

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