I am very excited. I have so much good news to share. Here are the highlights:
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We distributed 815 comfort scarves AGAIN this month
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The positive response of shelters to our scarves is heartwarming for us
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Yarn donors continue their generosity
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Our affiliates are busy, busy, busy
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The Craig’s List Foundation has asked us to share our story on LikeMinded
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We have been invited to participate in &You, an online tool that connects individuals and organizations to the causes they care about.
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Macy’s invited Handmade to participate in Community Shopping Day, May 14
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Mother’s Day is on May 8, just around the corner
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And now for the details:
Thanks to all of you kit makers, knitters, crocheters, and wrappers we were able to distribute 815 comfort scarves in March. Wow!
As usual, our wrapping party was great fun. Our team included Chris Needham, Enid Malm, Evelyn Dow, June Wisner, Linda Friege, Maria Cesna, Marie Cortez, Mary Barton and her friend visiting from China, Liying Yu, Sandi Brown, Therese Shafer, and Yumi Wu. Barbara Klein was recovering from surgery and I was at the Macy’s CSD kickoff meeting so everyone else had to step up to cover for us. Chris and Marie packed all the boxes. What a group. You did a great job! Many thanks.
At the end of the afternoon, we were short 54 scarves, but luckily we had unopened boxes of scarves in the front hall. We ripped open boxes from Joanne Garlick and Elizabeth O’Connell, wrapped them, and quickly closed the box to the last shelter. Again, I was amazed. I don’t know how we got it all done, but we did. If you ever wonder if your scarf counts, you no longer have to think about it. Every scarf matters. We reach our goal one scarf at a time. We value every contribution.
Recipients Appreciate Comfort Scarves
Directors at our shelters have sent us numerous letters of appreciation. The following excerpts are typical of what the directors say about the value of our comfort scarves at their shelters.
Carol Adelkoff, CEO and Executive Director of 1736, wrote: “Your continued friendship and support are so much appreciated.” 1736 was one of the first shelters to which we delivered comfort scarves.
Shannon Fors, Executive Director of Domestic Violence Center of the Santa Clarita Valley, wrote: “The women in our shelter and center appreciate your wonderful hand-crafted scarves more than I can say.”
Kitty Glass, Community Outreach Coordinator at Family Violence Project (Jewish Family Service of LA), wrote: “Thank you so much for the scarves you sent. They are gorgeous and have already been distributed to the shelter residents. They were thrilled. . . “
Tracy Halstead, Director of Haven House, wrote: “Your commitment to helping abused women and children in our community is sincerely appreciated.”
Melissa Pitts, Director of Community Services at House of Ruth, wrote: “Your donation of comfort scarves. . . . will help the women and children at House of Ruth have an enjoyable stay. Without people like you there is no way this could be possible.”
Karen Earl, Executive Director of Jenesse Center, wrote: “Your donation of comfort scarves . . . ensures that the women and children who are survivors of domestic violence will continue to receive safe and culturally relevant services that will empower them on the road to self-sufficiency and independence.”
Ben Schirmer, Executive director of Rainbow Services (the very first shelter to which we donated comfort scarves), wrote: “Your generous donation of comfort scarves . . . helps women and children recovering from lives of trauma. . . .The support of the community brings a sense of belonging and aids their healing.”
Yes, the comments are similar, but I never get tired of reading them. Each month, I am so glad to know that our comfort scarves are still doing their job. I am sorry only that there is such an endless line of women and children who need them.
Yarn Donors Continue Their Generosity
As you must realize, Handmade wouldn’t be able to supply yarn to all those who knit and crochet the scarves if it wasn’t for generosity of our yarn donors. March has been an excellent month for donations. Crystal Palace Yarns, Knitting Fever, Lion Brand and Skacel Knitting all contributed huge cases of yarn. Skacel also sent a huge case of needles. What we would do without the generosity of these companies.
We do need everyone. We really appreciate the donations from Cheryl Oberle Designs, Classic Elite Yarns, Mountain Colors, and the Scchaefer Yarn Co. I always say, “without yarn, we cannot make scarves” and I see how true that is every day. I divide the yarn so Barbara Klein has plenty for knit kits and I have plenty for crochet kits. The new yarn goes out almost as fast as it comes in. All the scarf makers love the infinite variety of the colors, textures, and combinations. Due to all the donations, we never give two scarves the same to any shelter. Each recipient really receives an individual and personal gift. However, if you are impressed by the long list of donors, don’t think we don’t need more yarn or that we have enough. We need a constant supply and we never have enough. Thanks to all yarn donors. You make comfort scarves a reality. Affiliates Are Busy
Our affiliates have been busy, busy, busy. All of their scarf deliveries are independent of those we make here in Los Angeles. They are in addition to, not part of, our 815. Renee Hoffman, leader of the Long Beach, CA group, donates 20 scarves to Interval House each month. At first, she made all 20 herself. Now she reports that Slipt Stitches of El Segundo and the charity knitters at Alamitos Bay Yarn Co. are contributing to the scarves she delivers each month.
Susan VanWinkle, leader of the San Rafael Yarn Ministry in San Diego, sent 17 scarves to the Center for Community Solutions and another 47 to Rachel’s Women‘s Center, both in San Diego.
Lois Anderson, in Madison WI, is celebrating her group’s one-year anniversary. She has started writing her own newsletter as well. During her first year, she donated 110 scarves to her local shelter and has gotten 4 yarn shops, friends, church members, and neighbors involved. She spoke at the Madison Knitters’ Guild and hopes to receive scarves from them as well. Go Lois.
Barb Kochuba, founder of Comfort Scarves in Pittsburgh, PA, celebrated her first anniversary last month. Her group serves 4 counties and 5 shelters in southwestern PA. She has involved other charities to participate with her and sponsors many special events to promote her cause. She is doing a great job.
I am pleased to welcome the Ruth Mailbag Group, founded and headed by Joy Coetzee, as our newest affiliate. Joy is in Ladysmith in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, but she found Handmade on Ravelry. You see how the internet connects us all. Her group sponsors a different project each month. In August, she will turn their attention to Victory Haven, a shelter for abused women. In the meantime, she needs items for babies and children. You can find out more about Ruth Mailbag at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheRuthMailbagGroup/ New Opportunities
Last month, Arthur Coddington from the Craig’s List Foundation contacted me. He wanted me to tell how Handmade donated 10,000 comfort scarves in 2010. The Foundation is starting a story-sharing platform called LikeMinded. Its goal is to highlight people's locally-focused work and help stories travel from city to city so people can build on one another's work. We’re at the point now of preparing material for their beta site. I have great hopes for this kind of exposure. I still have my sights set on establishing an independent work space for Handmade. Exposure on a site like this one should help us.
Johnson & Johnson and four other leading philanthropic service providers, Guidestar®, Network for Good, Idealist and Do Something have created another online tool that I hope will benefit Handmade. &You, the name of their community service network, will connect individuals and organizations to the causes they care about. The final practice session will be April 6 and then the whole thing will go live. Again, I am full of hope for what this will mean to Handmade in terms of exposure, donations, and participants.
Upcoming Events
Linda Friege, one of our very active volunteers, found an ad in one of our local newspapers, calling for 501(c)3s to participate in Macy’s Community Shopping Day on May 14. I went online and filled out the application immediately. And just as immediately Handmade was accepted to participate in this event. On our part, we “sell” tickets for $10 each. Handmade keeps 100% of the ticket sales. That’s a great fund raiser for sure. In addition, Macy’s will start selling tickets and Handmade will receive a share of their ticket sales as well. Even better for Handmade.
The purchaser of the ticket receives a coupon for $10 to use on the first purchase over $25 (instant return of the ticket price) and another coupon for 10-20% off purchases made throughout the day. The third benefit for the purchaser is that she can enter her ticket into a drawing for a $500 shopping spree. There are many ways to shop before May 14 and pick up purchases after, so there’s almost no reason not to buy a $10 ticket to support Handmade. Enid Malm is handling all this for Handmade. If you’re interested, contact her at enidmalm@verizon.net. Again, I feel so hopeful about this opportunity. I hope we can raise enough money to offset some of our shipping costs and especially to help pay the shipping of yarn to those who cannot pay it themselves. And, if we’re really wildly successful, we can put a down payment on a workshop independent of all our homes, a goal you know I’ve had for a long time.
Mother’s Day
Finally, Mother’s Day is just around the corner, on May 8. We need around 2,000 scarves for Mother’s Day. Some shelters want scarves every month; some want them for special occasions. All want them for Mother’s Day and Christmas. As I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, we were a bit short for March and had to cut in to our supply for April. Even though I know you’re all working as hard as you can, I hope you will put out a little more so we can get a comfort scarf for every abused mother who has sought protection in a shelter. You read the notes from the directors. You know they want the scarves for their women. They appreciate what we do. So we need a big push to get them scarves enough for Mother’s Day. The time is short, but we’re fast scarfers!
Every time I look back at where Handmade started in October, 2008 and see how far we’ve come in such a short time, I’m floored. I know we couldn’t have achieved all this without all of you. We had a lot of other support along the way-- June Grossberg, the owner of Concepts in Yarn where our core group meets every Wednesday evening, all the yarn donors, all the cash donors, everyone. Your dedication and support are phenomenal and I never forget it. Thank you so much.
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So if you want to donate yarn or scarves, please send your contributions to:Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden30065 Grandpoint LaneRancho Palos Verdes CA 90275.
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