This year the Homespun Yarn Party and Knitters and Crocheters Care are collecting knit and crocheted Comfort Monsters, water bottle holders and shawls for TAPS - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and hats, scarves and mittens for Alternative House.
TAPS (http://www.taps.org) provides a wide variety of programs and information to all those affected by a death of a loved one in the line of military duty. Each Memorial Day weekend, TAPS has invites their members to attend to attend their four-day Memorial Day event in Arlington, Virginia. Members are offered workshops and other forms of support where they learn to share, cope and heal from some of America’s leading experts on trauma and grief. Since 2003, Knitters and Crocheters Care (KCC) has attended this event; we teach knitting and crocheting and provide comfort items to attendees that stop by the KCC table. Bonnie Carroll, founder of TAPS was one of the extraordinary people who were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the nation's highest civilian honor. You can read more about this amazing woman here: http://www.taps.org/BonnieCarroll
What is a Comfort Monster? A Comfort Monster can be as simple as a stuffed square with funky eyes, or as challenging as an elaborately decorated stuffed animal. Just make sure it’s soft and huggable. What is a water bottle holder or water bottle sling? There are a bunch of knit and crochet patterns on Ravelry -- any one of those patterns will work for this program.
Alternative House (https://thealternativehouse.org/) located in Fairfax, Virginia - supports at-risk children, youth and families, provides crisis intervention and neighborhood outreach. We are collecting hats, scarves and mittens for children and young adults at Alternative House. Alternative House continues to see an increase in requests for assistance, they rise to the challenge because of generous donations from the metro DC community. The number of young people seeking help at the Emergency Shelter for Teenagers is up 30% over pre-recession numbers. They opened a new program to help young people who are homeless while still in high school and who don't have the support of a parent or guardian. Requests for food and clothing are up more than 50% in their community based programs. Your generous donation of cold weather items may make the difference between going to school or staying home during the next harsh winter.
Additionally, if you’re looking to destash - Knitters and Crocheters Care is collecting yarn for charity projects and charitable organizations throughout the DC metro area.
You can also grab your knitting needles and/or your crochet hooks, and come and knit/crochet with us. You are welcome to bring your own yarn, however, we will also provide charity yarn for you to work with.
Hope you can participate!! There will be prizes!
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