With Global Heartfelt Hatters, You Can Knit Warmth for Needy Laos Children
Global Heartfelt Hatters recently reached out to me on the Knitting for Charity Facebook page, and I feel very proud to be a part of spreading the word about this terrific knitting charity.
Director Barbara Shimoda wrote the following: “Hi, I have a nonprofit called Give Children A Choice. I run a program that has volunteers knitting and crocheting hats, scarves, sweaters, and jumpers for me to take up north in Laos to distribute to the children. Last week, we gave out more than 500 hats. Last season, my first season, I was able to gather 1700 hats and scarves to distribute to the local villages in Xineg Khouang Province, Laos where 50 years ago, over 280 million bombs were dropped and devastated the lands.
“I am running low and the cold season just started. We are called the The Global HeartFelt Hatters. My question is how do I get more volunteers for this ongoing project and to donate old, unwanted wool/yarn for my project?”
Give Children a Choice is a terrific program that helps with preschool programs for children in underprivileged areas all over area. From their website’s About Us page: “Knowing that education is key to eradicating poverty and providing the underprivileged a sustainable future, we set out with a specific goal in mind, namely, to help children succeed in school, and to empower them to make their own choices. Our mission is to build and fill preschools with children, and to properly educate the local communities about the true importance of this mission. We are fully committed to build and fill as many preschools as we can throughout Asia with children who deserve a choice.”
Global Heartfelt Hatters is an offshoot of that particular charity, designed to provide these children with the warm winter clothing and accessories they need.
How You Can Help
If your heart warms at the thought of helping needy children on the other side of the world, Global Heartfelt Hatters is a great charity to support. Here’s what you can do. First, of course, you can knit (or crochet)! While the group is called “Hatters,” they’ll also take scarves, and if you feel like making sweaters, they’ll gladly accept those as well.
Secondly, if you have extra yarn that you don’t need or want, Global Heartfelt Hatters will gladly accept a donation of yarn as well. Whether you choose to donate projects or yarn, you can send Barbara an e-mail at [email protected], so she can give you further instructions.
Finally, spread the word! Barbara stressed that they need as many people helping as possible so that all the children who need help to stay warm receive it. So if you have a knitting group looking for a new project, share this charity. Or if you have a lot of knitting friends on social media, spread the word there too.
You can visit the Global Heartfelt Hatters Facebook page here and visit the Give Children a Choice website here. The latter is a wonderful way to see the amazing work ongoing by this charity. The Facebook page will be certain to inspire you to add your own hats and scarves to the ones displayed in photos.
This is a tremendous way to touch lives across the world. Why not join the Global Heartlfelt Hatters and knit warmth for these lovely children?
