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