7 Ways to Donate Knitted Items and Make a Difference

Do you have a passion for knitting and crocheting? If so, you can use your skills to make a difference in the lives of those in need. Care to Knit is an organization whose mission is to provide hand-knitted and crocheted items such as scarves, lap shawls, hats and other related accessories for those in need. Your hand-woven gifts will be donated to hospitals, homeless shelters, and others in need in the United States and abroad. There are many ways to donate knitted items, from donating to local nursing homes to sending items to remote communities.

Here are 7 ways you can donate knitted items that are likely to be accepted with open arms.

1.Knitting and Gifting

Knitting and Gifting is a charity that offers warm hand-woven or crocheted items to those in need. You can find the types of knitwear that are needed on their website's Call for Items page.

2.Knit Big for Small Lungs

Donate your time knitting or crocheting to create blankets, hats, booties and more for babies in the NICUs of the country's hospitals. You can use the supplies you already have at home (such as knitting needles and that stash of wool you've been saving for a rainy day).

3.Chase the Chill

Chase the Chill is a charity that combines yarn bombing, art and charity to raise awareness, lift spirits and share knitwear with those in need. Volunteers knit hats and scarves and deliver care packages to cancer patients and cancer centers across Illinois.

4.Calypso's Ocean

Calypso's Ocean supports parents through an online memorial and donated grief items for babies who died while still in the hospital or in the neonatal intensive care unit.

5.Hot Hands Network

The Hot Hands Network connects volunteer weavers and crochets with northern communities to provide clothing for children in remote locations.

6.National World War II Museum

The National World War II Museum collects and distributes hand-woven scarves to veterans through their Knit Your Bit or Crochet Your Bit program.

7.Local Nursing Homes

You can also donate knitted items directly to local nursing homes. For example, if you make lapghans in bright colors that are no longer than 48″ sideways, they will be big enough to keep the person warm but small enough that they don't get caught in wheelchairs.If you need more suggestions, just tell me what you'd like to knit and I'll see what I can suggest. Keep in mind that Care Wear now offers a multitude of ways to knit for hospitals, beyond clothing for premature babies.