I found a few more charity organizations to contribute to for those who knit or crochet. First, there’s the Mother Bear Project. They provided donated hand-made bears to comfort children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations. Basically, this is how it works: you send them $5 for the pattern and the money goes towards the cost of shipping all the bears (mainly to Africa and Haiti). They ask you to use a specific pattern and then personalize it, but they don’t want anyone making up their own bears without using the basic pattern provided. You can find more info about that on the FAQ page.
Another program you may be interested in is sponsored by Save the Children and is called Knit One Save One. The idea is to distribute hand-knitted or crocheted baby hats to children around the world since keeping newborns warm is an essential element to keeping them healthy. This looks like an obviously worthwhile project, but I was concerned that when you are asked to download what they term an “action kit,” you have to give all kinds of personal information, and there includes a line that says by downloading the kit you give permission to allow them to send you future emails. I find that a little frustrating, but if that kind of thing doesn’t bother you, then it might be a good group to become involved with. Like I said, I like the cause, just not thrilled with the set up on line.
Do you do any charity crafting or know of a group that could use them help? Let me know about them or include some info in a comment.