Charity, How You Can Help Without Money

If you look around your community it wont take long to see people who need help. There are the homeless that are cold and huddled up on the streets. There are the single mothers struggling to keep their children fed and clothed. There are children who are abandoned or abused. Some people have lost hope and you can see it in their faces. There is a plethora or organizations out there with their hands out ready to take your monitory gift but that is an easy out. You can help with your own two hands using skills you use every day. Read on and I will tell you what you need to know to put your talents to work for others.

Project Linus

Working at the hospital in my community I have seen so many children with pale faces and bare heads. I have seen those little ones in the emergency room screaming until they need to gasp for air or choke. They are hurt but they are also scared. I wanted desperately to help them. I searched until I found a national charity called Project Linus that helps children in crisis in all 50 states. They collect handmade blankets for those children who are hurt, very ill, or traumatized. This group was founded in 1995 by Karen Loucks after reading an article in Parade magazine titled "Joy to the World". It was about a little girl who had gone through grueling chemotherapy treatments who said it was her security blanket that helped her through it. This made Karen think of Linus from the Peanuts comic strip who always carried around his own security blanket. Karen began taking handmade blankets to Denver's Rocky Mountain Children's Cancer Center and from there the charity organization has blossomed. Currently there are 378 chapters around the United States that have delivered over three million blankets.

If you crochet, knit, sew, weave, or can tie knots in fleece you can help make snuggly blankets to help comfort those hurting and scared children. Go to www.projectlinus.org to learn more.

Habitat for Humanity

If you can wield a hammer and help carry materials you can help build homes for the needy. Volunteers work under trained supervision to help build homes that are "simple, decent, and affordable to low-income families around the world." These homes are energy efficient and built to last. Their website states why they build. "Nearly 2 billion people around the world live in slum housing and over 100 million are homeless. Families left homeless by natural disasters, war and civil unrest often face dire housing situations as they struggle to rebuild their lives." Take some time to offer your help. Find out how by visiting http://www.habitat.org.

Warm up America!

Evie Rosen founded Warm up America in 1991 when she rounded up her neighbors who crocheted and knitted to help neighbors in need in her small Wisconsin town. She came up with the idea of having one group of people knit or crochet small sections and had another group put them together to make blankets that resembled patchwork quilts. Now people around the country can help to make these blankets. The pieces are collected, assembled and then distributed to people in need around the country. They don't stop there though. Their mission involves teaching volunteers how to knit and crochet and providing them with instructional materials. They involve schools and youth groups to get more children involved in the community and reach out to community groups and businesses for help. Go to www.craftyarncouncil.com/warmup.html to find out how you can get involved.

Bottles of Hope

Do you love working with clay? If so you can help Diane Gregoire bring hope to cancer patients by making these beautiful little bottles with polymer clay. Diane got the idea when she was receiving her own chemotherapy treatments. She noticed that many little glass medicine bottles got disgarded every day. She began decorating these glass medicine bottles with the clay and giving them to the other patients. The patients could put their prayer or wish inside and close it with the little stoppers she made. This gave them renewed hope. Learn how to make these sweet little "wish bottles" at www.bottlesofhope.org. On the website you will also find a message board, printable tags for the bottles, and instructions on how to distribute them.

The Shawl Ministry

In 1998, the combined efforts and prayers of Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo birthed this wonderful charity that crafts handmade shawls for those who need comforting. Each shawl is crafted with love and prayer. Make one to give to your friend or to anyone who could use prayer, are undergoing a medical procedure, dealing with stressful times, or mourning the loss of a loved one. There are many more reasons to give a prayer shawl. Many churches and other local organizations have groups who get together to make these shawls. Look for a group near you. Go to www.shawlministry.com for more information.

Soldiers' Angels

This volunteer lead international charity began with Patti Patton-Bader who is a mother of two American soldiers. When her oldest son was deployed in 2003 he mentioned to his mom that many soldiers didn't receive any correspondence of any kind. Patti couldn't handle that so she began rounding up friends to send letters to some of these soldiers. She contacted business that could offer support and "as of April 2008, our membership numbers over 200,000 volunteers led by an all-volunteer Board of Trustees and officers. Today, Soldiers' Angels works around the world to address military-related needs ranging from deployed support to wounded care, to remembrance of the fallen and a wide variety assistance for military families." There are 30 plus teams and projects that could use your help. You can adopt a soldier to write to and send care packages or join a group like Wounded TLC where you send cards to wounded soldiers. Go to www.soldiersangels.org to find out more.

Operation Toasty Toes

In 1997, Mrs. Irene Silliman started out with a goal to send a box of 100 slippers to her son David, a cryptologist in the U. S. Navy, and his comrades. In a letter to his mother, David mentioned that his feet were often cold and asked if she could make him and some of his buddies some of the slippers like she had made his dad. Now being a widow, this was the fuel she needed to keep her going. She employed some of her friends and they got to work. When the box was finally sent it was "dropped on the deck via a helicopter. The officer of the deck had no idea what this box labeled OPERATION TOASTY TOES was. He tells of seeing a young sailor, jumping up and down yelling "There here, the booties are here."" Irene's group continued to grow and now they have 21 chapters. They went from making these booties to adding well needed "dickeys; headbands; helmets (a.k.a. ski masks); watch caps and wristlets (a.k.a. fingerless mitts). These items are mailed to our Armed Forces stationed overseas. It is a grass roots way to assist in America's fight against terrorism." Irene is now 78 years old! Go to www.operationtoastytoes.org and she how you can help.

Head Huggers

Sue W. Thompson started Head Huggers after meeting a woman who was going through chemotherapy. Having lost her hair she wore a baseball hat to try to keep her head warm. Sue had found her mission. She began making hats and distributing them hospitals and clinics. She has a great collection of patterns, ideas, and other useful information available on her website. Look up www.headhuggers.org to learn more.

Heavenly Angels In Need

Mary and Brian Glynn are a couple who understand the struggle of having a premature baby who cannot leave the hospital. Mary journeyed to the hospital every two hours to nurse her tiny baby boy! Mary and Glenn also know the pain of losing a child. Their baby girl, Mariah, was born at 21 weeks gestation and weighing a mere 10 oz. She only lived an hour and a half. In 2002 Mary began making hats for other babies in the NICU where her son was in an incubator. This was the beginning of Heavenly Angels in Need. It now has five divisions:

1. The Neonatal Division offers "hats, booties, blankets, clothing and sadly when the need is we offer burial garment. Many of the burial garments we donate are made from donated wedding gowns. (read more about donating your gown)"

2. The Children's Division offers "clothing, hygiene products, school supplies, comfort supplies for children in trauma, toys and more."

3. The Memory Box Division gives a special box to parents who lose a baby.

4. The Casket Division helps parents who can't afford a casket.

5. The Comfort Division helps parents who have lost a child from infant age to teen deal with grief. "We offer a place for these parents to talk; our private bereavement forum has many resources and we hope will help parents through the processes of grief."

This is a very special charity that needs a lot of support. Go to http://www.heavenlyangelsinneed.com/ to learn more about the program. At http://haincraftforum.org/ you can find patterns for things you can make for Heavenly Angels in Need.

Volunteer

Give your time to help people in need. You can read to a child or help someone improve on their English in order to get a job. Look up http://www.literacy-council.org/. Mow a law or help paint an elderly person's home. Serve up food at your local rescue mission or simply have a conversation with someone at an extended living facility. Look around your local community for ways to plug in. You can go to http://www.liveunited.org/ to find a United Way Chapter in your area. Look up a Hospice in your area. Many people in these centers don't receive any visitors. Check your community hospital to see how you can help. Volunteer to walk dogs at your local animal shelter. http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/dog-walkers.htm If you are crafty Annie's Attic (http://www.anniesattic.com/charity.html?criteria=giving hearts) has a list of charities you can craft things for and patterns to help. Lion Brand Yarn also has a page (http://cache.lionbrand.com/charityConnection.html) where you can enter your zip code and find charities for your area. Just take a look around and you'll find some way to use your unique abilities.

So now you know there are many ways you can help with your own two hands. There are many more not listed here. Use your computer to search for them. You will find it is very rewarding to help others.

Sources:

Project Linus National Headquarters. 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.projectlinus.org.

Learn about Habitat for Humanity -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l. 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.habitat.org/how/default.aspx.

What is Warm Up America! (WUA!). 2009. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/warmup.html.

Bottles of Hope. 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.bottlesofhope.org/.

Welcome To The Prayer Shawl Ministry www.shawlministry.com. 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.shawlministry.com.

Soldiers' Angels - About Us. 2003. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://soldiersangels.org/about-us.html.

Operation Toasty Toes- How we started... 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.operationtoastytoes.org/about.html.

Head Huggers: Introduction. 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.headhuggers.org/intro.htm.

How HAIN started - HAIN Craft Forum. 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.haincraftforum.org/index.php?s=832f2225d8c46bb15ff928f0fd4efcad&showtopic=5357.

Home Menu Page. 27 Jan 2010. Web. 27 Jan 2010
http://www.heavenlyangelsinneed.com/HomeMenu.php.