WE MOVED!

In the past 2 weeks Crafters with Love has grown way beyond I ever imagined it would.

Visit us at our new home & see the latest exciting news and enter our Give Away!

http://crafterswithlove.com

(We even have our own domain name!) :-)

Nick

     I often surf around on the Wish Upon A Hero site looking for people with wishes that I can help with or pass on to see if others on Twitters can. Today I came across one that shows and amazing loyalty to a friend in need and was so touched by it that initially contacted the person to offer a card for encouragement to the guy in need.
     While I was waiting for a reply with the address, I tweeted about it on my main Twitter account (@nursebevw) as well as @crafterslove. People were retweeting it and offering to send cards also. I was even more touched by the immediate response of people willing to help with even just passing along the information that I have now decided that I am going to give this wish my full attention.
     I plan to not only recruit people to send cards but to make donations to help this man get his life back & his friends to help take care of him until that point comes. 

I have friends that I love dearly and would do anything in the world for.... obviously these people feel the same way about "Nick" and are reaching out to the world for help and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they get it. ALL donations made to Crafters With Love will be sent to this family from today until the end of September. In the meantime, all other projects are on hold and will only be recommendations only. 

Read their story as posted on http://www.wishuponahero.com:

My best friend in the whole world, Nick, has been through a really hard time lately and I would love to help him out, but I can't do it alone. He was living near me in Fort Worth, and was working hard to provide child support for his two kids, but ended up getting laid off after 6 years on his job. Soon after he lost his car, and was just having a really hard time making ends meet. Through a cousin of his, he was offered a construction job in Amarillo, which is about 5 hours away from Fort Worth. My boyfriend and I gave him a ride up there because we knew he really needed a fresh start, and he would have done it for us if we had needed him too. After a few short months there, he seemed to be doing well and things were looking up for him...he even found himself a new girlfriend, an apartment and a truck. About 3 months ago we got a phone call that Nick had an accident at work and was probably not going to survive. He fell from a lift and dropped head first onto concrete. His skull was fractured and he needed several surgeries to relieve the pressure on his brain. He spent an entire week in a comma. Thankfully, he pulled through it and after a few weeks in the hospital, they moved him to an assisted living home near Fort Worth so he could continue his rehab and learn to live on his own again. He has been doing really well the past couple of weeks, and apart from having mild seizures, he is back to his old self. He wants to return to Amarillo and again try to start fresh. He doesn't have much family, and apart from me and my boyfriend, he doesn't get much support. He needs some serious moral support as well as help with his move back to Amarillo. Any letters, cards, prayers, and/or gas or food gift cards, so we can AGAIN get him home, would be greatly appreciated. He is a great guy who seems to have the worst luck ever, and just needs some positive energy sent his way. It would mean a lot to him to know people out there were willing to help. 

Here's the link to actual page: http://www.wishuponahero.com/wishes/?id=351595

For those wishing to send cards: Send to:
"Nick"  5740 Parkview Hills Lane, Fort Worth, Texas 76179. 

Donations can either be made by clicking the "Donate" button on this page, or I can supply you with a Paypal email for the family. As previously stated ALL donations made to Crafters With Love will be sent to this family from today until the end of September. In the meantime, all other projects are on hold and will only be recommendations only. 

Update on Nick: Friday August 28, 2009

He will be leaving his assisted living home next week and then he will stay with us until we can get him home. Thanks!

Join Nick's Cause & help spread the word on Facebook HERE

 

Newborns in Need

Newborns in Need, Inc. (NIN) is a 501(c)3 charity organized to take care of sick and needy babies and their families; and in cases of crisis, to help where help is needed.

Newborns in Need, Inc. is founded upon Christian principles and provides essential items without charge to those in need. Serving God's tiniest children since 1992.

In 2008, Newborns in Need donated out 492,000 items!

Visit their site here

Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can.

Project Angel Kisses

"Project Angel Kisses is a ministry, built on a foundation of faith and prayer, to help meet the very special needs of precious preemies and full-term babies whose parents are in need of help. We want each family to know,without a doubt, that there are people who love their tiny angels, are praying for them, and want to help by crocheting, knitting, quilting,and sewing hats, booties, afghans, mitts, angel layettes (burial layettes), diaper shirts, gel pillowcases, etc. We have a LOT of fun and make cherished friendships as we make angel gifts for "our babies."

More information Here

Project Knit

Project Knit is part of Project Sunshine which provides free programs and services to children and families who are affected with serious medical challenges.

Project Knit gives knitters the opportunity to help children and families affected by medical challenges. There are many ways to become involved in Project Knit:

• Lead your own knitting group anywhere in the country by making blankets, hats, gloves and scarves from preemie to teen sizes that can be donated to a hospital.


• Form a knitting group with your co-workers during lunch time to create team building and social opportunities in your work environment while giving back to the community. We´ll help you get started!


• Volunteer to teach knitting in hospitals to children and families as a way to relieve their stress. This is a great way to share your knitting skills with others and connect with children and families who would benefit greatly from your volunteer services.

View photos of Project Knit in action!

Download our information sheet to send in with your knitting donations or email us to be added to our knitting database. Project Sunshine wants to get to know our knitters!

Download free easy baby patterns to use for your Project Sunshine knitting donations.

More ways to help Project Sunshine: Click here for more information

The Mother Bear Project

The Mother Bear Project is dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of a hand-knit or crocheted bear. The simple gift of a hand-knit bear with a tag signed by the knitter has touched children with the message that they are unconditionally loved. Learn more about Mother Bear Project, the children in need and how you can help this effort.

Faith, Hope and Charity Stitches, Inc.

Faith Hope and Charity Stitches is a 501(c)3 non profit corporation.

We started FHCS in January of 2004, to make and give clothing, blankets, burial outfits and other things to babies that are too small to shop for, to families that can not afford to purchase the items, and to have the appropriate clothing needed in the hospitals to facilitate life support systems connected to ill babies.

Most of us had been involved in doing this charity work for months or even years. The decision to form a new non profit came out of wanting to include in the deliveries we make - a witness to the recipients. Not a witness of 'our goodness' but a witness of how we strive to please God in what we do, as we give freely, expecting nothing in return. Our deliveries now go to 17 agencies - some once per month, and include poems [bereavement], scripture for encouragement, and the indication the we as a group do this not as a service for merit, but as an act of love. We love what we do in the sewing, quilting, crocheting, and knitting processes, and to share the works from our hands is a gift to the recipients. Demonstrating our love for the recipients without ever meeting them, letting them know that someone else cared ahead of time, is our way of sharing the love we have learned from our Lord.

To help, DONATE or join us, contact us as outlined below. You'll find us in a variety of places across Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

You may use our online form HERE to contact us--or you may EMAIL US through your own mail program.

You may also reach us via "snail mail" at:

Faith Hope and Charity Stitches, Inc
9290 South Brown Rd
Chardon, Ohio 44024

Wish List

This is a wish list of " most " of what we need on a monthly basis. We deliver as much as we have every month- so the needs listed below are on going every month all year long.

Quilts 36" x 45"

Receiving Blankets [30 X 30 36 X 36 preferred] Flannels/single layer or may be doubled [serged edges are fine]

Afghans crocheted and knitted (20 X 20 up to 36 X 45) small ones must be light weight yarn. NO WOOL or Wool blends please

Onesies -moderate stretch

Sleepers

Gowns

T-shirts -moderate stretch fabric

Hats/bonnets (only large preemie and newborn)

Sweaters, hats & bootie sets

Bibs, burp cloths, preemie dresses, jogging suits. These items can be handmade, or bought new . Toys are always welcomed- soft washable hand made or NEW purchased.

Baby hygiene products (lotion, shampoo,bath etc.), diapers, pacifiers, baby wipes, etc. are always needed - we never have enough

Bereavement Items:

Burial gowns with bonnets for boys and girls, miscarriage wrappers for early losses, memory handkerchiefs, memory afghans, memory stuffed animals (small, pastel colors), memory envelopes in all sizes.

Fabrics, Yarns and Supplies: flannel, interlock knit baby prints or solid, polar fleece, cotton or cotton blend, lace, white serger thread on large cones, regular sewing thread, "stuffing" - polyfill, new only, quilt batting, lots of baby and sport weight yarn. (any notions for sewing, knitting, crocheting, and quilting, i.e. scissors, rotary cutters, cutting mats, needles, etc)
Visit their website for more information, patterns, and/or updated information. Click here
*Information listed here taken directly from Faith, Hope & Charity Stitches Website.

Grace

Submission to Wish Upon a Hero
"I am the principal of Thomas Paine International Elementary School. I am writing on behalf of a child and family in my school. About six weeks ago, Grace, a second grader, was diagnosed with cancer. She is responding well to treatment, and we eagerly await the day when she can return to school healthy and strong. She has at least two years of chemotherapy ahead of her. As you can imagine, the treatment is expensive. Even all the trips in and out of the city to the doctors and treatment centers would put a strain on a typical family's budget. To make things worse, her father was laid off just weeks before she was diagnosed. I am writing to try to take the financial strain off the family. They are wonderful, loving parents whose little Grace is suffering, and nothing else matters right now. It would be so nice to take finacial worry off their very full plate. Thanks.

Please help in two ways.
1. Pray for Grace and her family. They are people of faith and will appreciate your prayers.
2. Send donations and get well cards to
Grace C/O
Thomas Paine PTA
4001 Church Road
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

Checks can be made to Thomas Paine PTA. The PTA will combine them into one check for the family to make the banking easy on them.
On behalf of Grace and her family, thank you for your generosity. "

Link to actual Submission: http://www.wishuponahero.com/wishes/?id=278839

Lawn Flamingoing- Nana's Heroes

I am a self professed Twitter addict and one of the people that I follow (@jaymattlin) is a 22 year old guy who amazes the heck out of me. He maintains a website called nanasheroes.org and while visiting his page I found the story about "Lawn Flamingoing", which began as a senior project for Jay. The idea is to decorate someone's yard for an occasion such as a birthday or anniversary.(see picture)
Since its beginning Jay has received donations from different sources to continue on with the project and now uses it as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

For more information about Lawn Flamingoing Click here
Don't forget to check out the rest of http://www.nanasheroes.org and please consider supporting Jay in his amazing efforts to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

*Photo courtesy of http://www.nanasheroes.org

Virtual Food Drive

I am participating in the Operation Feed Virtual Food Drive because there are too many children, families and senior citizens facing the same basic need - they don’t have enough food. Demand for emergency food assistance is now up 20% and will continue to grow each day during this economic crisis. By participating in the Operation Feed Virtual Food Drive, I can help feed hungry people in my own neighborhood. Also, This effort helps stock the shelves of hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters in central and eastern Ohio.

Today, the need is greater than ever, and I urge you to join me in this effort. By supporting Operation Feed through the Virtual Food Drive, you can help provide wholesome, filling meals to families who are struggling to make ends meet.

Every donation counts. 100% of your donation to the Operation Feed Virtual Food Drive will provide food for people in need. For every dollar raised, Operation Feed is able to provide TWO meals. A donation of just $12.50 provides 25 meals for those less fortunate.

Please join me in the fight against hunger by making a donation today. Thousands of people in central and eastern Ohio are facing hunger. They are our neighbors, our coworkers and friends. They are the faces of hunger. And they live here. This is your opportunity to help.

~All donations are secure and made directly to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, NOT me personally.
~Once your donation is complete, you will receive a confirmation email that you can print for your records.
~Donations are tax deductible.

Donate Here

Crafting for a Cause

Crafting for a Cause, a501c3 non profit organization, is a group of crafters from around the globe, coming together to help those in need. They use their crafting talents to make afghans, quilts, lapghans, scarves, hats, slippers and much, much more! Their efforts and focus are on the children and elders of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the newborn unit of the Pine Ridge hospital, Pass Creek Elderly Center on Pine Ridge Reservation, the Pretty Bird Woman House on the Standing Rock Reservation and the children at the UC Davis Pediatric Cancer Infusion Center in Sacramento, California

They also have a webstore to raise money to buy propane for the families on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Members donate items to the store and all profits from the store go into the propane fund. You can join their cause and join their Yahoo Group by visiting their site by clicking here

Knit (or Crochet) A Square

Knit or crochet and send just one square (or more) and it will join thousands of other squares from around the world to be joined into blankets for these children,
many of whom are affected by HIV AIDS.

Let's do the mathematics for this crochet and knitting project:

40 squares
makes one blanket

400 squares makes 10 blankets

4 000 makes 100 blankets

40 000 makes 1000 blankets

400 000 makes 10 000 blankets

That is knit-a-square.com's goal:

10 000 children and baby blankets in 2009.

So your charity knitting and crocheting will contribute to keeping one of
10 000 children warm.

Here are easy instructions for knitting and crocheting your square.

And importantly, the postal instructions for sending your squares safely.

Keeping a child with HIV AIDS warm is important

Keeping a child warm does make a difference. We all understand how awful it is to be cold, but many of us have not experienced the misery of being cold all night, every night, hungry, and perhaps very sick as well.

Hundreds of thousands of children in the world suffer this plight. As HIV AIDS is an auto immune disease, keeping warm affects these children's ability to stay well.

We have started this crochet and knitting for charity project with the Soweto Comfort Club in South Africa. They have also introduced us to Hotel Hope, a children's charity, who aim to provide homes for children whose parents have died of HIV AIDS and who may suffer from it themselves.

Visit their site for more information and instructions for knitting or crocheting the squares. Click Here

*Photos and information from Knit A Square website

Cards for Heroes

OUR MISSION

To support our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

Guidelines for cards:
No Glitter
A2 size cards
General cards
No store bought
Any hero letters. (A letter to any military member... not specific to one person)

CURRENT TOTAL 6/8/09
145,477 cards have been
sent to our heroes so far!

CARD DEADLINES:
Please postmark your cards by these dates:
Father's Day: was May 8
Independence Day: was June 1
Back to school: Aug 1
Halloween: Sept 20
Thanksgiving: Oct 5
Christmas: Nov 1
All other cards: anytime!

Current request is 25 general cards for soldiers to write home on, 1 any hero card(card TO the soldier) and 1 birthday card.

FROM A HERO:
"Please pass our gratitude to all of your volunteers . . . the cards make us want to reach out to people that we haven’t made contact with in years—simply because the cards force you to want to share a smile. I can’t say enough to express our gratefulness."
—CPT L.C., Iraq, Army

Visit the Site for more information Cards for Heroes

Angels for Hope

Angels for Hope Information:

Our Mission

Our mission is to help people send a message of hope and caring by providing them a symbol and the means to deliver it. By offering our crocheted angels, butterflies, and smiley faces free of charge, anyone can touch the life of those in need of hope

About Us

In December of 2002 the original owner of “Angels for Hope” stepped down. At that time, Kelly Smith assumed the duties of running the group of 15 members. Due to health problems Kelly took on a partner, Cindy Gabner, in January, 2003. As Kelly’s health worsened, she was unable to be online and Angels For Hope is now run by Cindy. Angels for Hope was Incorporated in April 2005 and became a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization on December 29, 2005. As of December, 2005 the group has grown to over 600 Angels from all over the world.

Visit them Angels for Hope

Blankets for Canada Society

Blankets for Canada Society is a non-denominational, non-profit charity that makes 8" squares to be joined together into blankets. Inspired by Warm Up America, Blankets for Canada distributes blankets to organizations who care for people without shelter and in need of warmth.

Blankets for Canada Society
210A - 12'A' St No Suite 217
Lethbridge, Alberta
Canada T1H2J1
www.blankets4canada.ca

Care Wear

What began in 1991 as a personal effort in bonnie Hagerman’s Hood College office has expanded across America, Canada, and Italy, with a network of over 2,400 volunteers and more than 28,000 articles of clothing donated to premature and low-birth-weight babies.

Over the past 18 years, Care Wear has developed relationships with numerous hospitals. Their website provides a helpful hospital search so volunteer can customize items to meet each hospital’s needs. Volunteers are not limited to the hospitals on the list but are encouraged to contact hospitals in advance to better meet their needs.

A wide variety of items can be made to donate. From sweaters to hats to teddy bears, each project is needed and loved. Care Wear provides numerous hand and machine knitting, crocheting, and sewing patterns for your convenience, although any pattern can be used. The garment patterns on Care Wear’s website have been adjusted to fit premature and low-birth weight infants who often do not into normal clothing.

There is no sign up to be a Care Wear volunteer, simply attach a Care Wear label to your article and donate it to a hospital. Items should be made from machine-washable yarn. Wool should be clearly labeled as such and used to make blankets only.

For more information about the organization, please contact it directly at CareWear.org.

Happy Birthday Crafters with Love!

I'm so excited that something that's been nothing but a thought is coming to fruition today. It's the beginning of something great even if I have to do it alone.

I have created Crafters with Love because I'm a disabled nurse but still have the overwhelming desire to touch lives (which is the primary reason I became a nurse). My love of crafting came after becoming sick with Fibromyalgia and quit smoking. I needed something to do with my hands and in order to feel "productive" I began doing various crafts. My latest passion for knitting and crocheting has brought me to this point that all the items I've created are sitting around being of no use. So, I decided to investigate various ways to donate items I've made.

The point behind Crafters with Love is hopefully for others join my passion and donate needed items such as Chemo cams, scarves, hats and gloves to the less fortunate, or clothes for low-birth weight/pre-mature babies, get well & encouragement cards, etc.

I'm looking forward to growing Crafters with Love through participation of other crafters no matter their skill.

If you have any questions, know of any organizations that could benefit from any crafting talents, or are willing to donate your time to help, please contact me:
crafterswithlove@yahoo.com
You can also follow on Twitter @crafterslove http://twitter.com/crafterslove

Please, at least help me spread the word.