On Thursday (May 18) we shipped 650 comfort scarves.  Whew.  Our last shipping before our summer break.  Thanks to all who participated and made this shipping a breeze: 

Carolyn Lowi, owner of Concepts in Yarn, who provides meeting space and bins for kits and finished scarves;

Yarn companies who donate the yarn;

Volunteers who:

          Measure the yarn—Jeni, Paula, Karen H

          Measure the fun fur—Paula, Meredith

          Wind the Magic Balls— Angie, Ann, Carole Ann, Evelyn, Jeni, Karen H, Nancy C, Paula, Therese and others

          Assemble the kits—Ann

          Open boxes—Carlyn, Chris N, Sharon L

          Make the scarves—EVERYONE

          Wrap the scarves—Betty R, Carlyn, Chris F, Chris N, Ann, Evelyn, Karen, Paula, Sharon L, Therese and many more

          Pack the boxes—Ann, Chris N, Monica

          Ship the scarves--Ann

Donors who:

          Contribute yarn—Berroco Yarn, Brown Sheep Yarn, Crystal Palace Yarns, Mountain Colors

          Contribute $$$$--Betty W, Marlene, Kathy A, Vicki R

          Contribute ribbon--Carlyn

          Contribute boxes—Beth, Kathleen, Monica

          Defray the cost of shipping—UPS Foundation

Big hearted volunteers who:

          Make the gift tags--Phil

          Fill out tax forms—Sharon M

          Keep the books--Ann

          Manage the website—Ann, Lori J

          Post on Facebook—Karen W 

It takes a lot of people to keep Handmade going.  If I didn’t include your name, really, I meant to.  Go ahead and add it and let me know.  What’s the result of all effort?  So far this year, we’ve shipped 5,400 scarves, 80 hats, and 280 baby items.  Wow.  Even more incredible, since we started at the end of 2008, we’ve donated 97,400 scarves, 3,080 hats, and a lot of baby items.  Really.  We’ve done a lot. 

There’s still plenty more to do.  Between September and November, we will need 4,000 to 5,000 scarves to meet the requests of shelters for abused women throughout the state of California.  We will need 2,000 hats (we have about 1,000 already) for the kids who come to the shelters with their moms.  And we want to have whatever baby items you want to donate.  Comfort scarves are important because they give the women hope for a life without abuse.  Hats for their kids are important because they help the children recover from the domestic violence they have seen and abuse they experienced.  Baby items lift the spirits of the pregnant women who arrive at the shelters feeling they have nothing to offer the baby on its way. 

Handmade’s scarves, hats, and baby items provide hope, love, caring, a sense of worth to the recipients.  Whatever part of the process you contribute is important.  I thank you.  The shelters thank you.  And the women and children who have sought the protection of a shelter thank you. 

Keep scarfing.  Our needles are powerful. 

Love, 

Leslye 

PS  Don’t wait until autumn to send us your scarves, hats and baby items.  It takes time to get everything ready and wrapped.  We stay busy all summer getting ready for holiday shipping.  Please send your contributions to: 

Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden

30065 Grandpoint Lane

Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275