S.P.E.W. (Charity Crafting)

[pinkleo]

Welcome to the Society for the Promotion of Everyone's Welfare
a.k.a. S.P.E.W.

This is a group where HPCers* (those who participate in the Harry Potter Craftalongs), Harry Potter lovers, and kindhearted crafters can get together and craft for others in need.  Please share your charity projects, links, and ideas.  This group is ongoing, meaning it is not broken into time frames like yearly or seasonly.  I look forward to seeing everyone's charitable crafts!

CHARITABLE LINKS
---Afghans for Afghans: create blankets, sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks to the beleaguered people of Afghanistan
---Blankets for Canada: creating crocheted, knitted, sewn blankets for Canadians who need warmth
---Blessing Bags: Gallon sized bag of basic necessities to give to the jobless/homeless you see in your community
---Caitlin's Smiles: Help children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses with arts and crafts activities in the forms of “Bags of Smiles”, individual arts and crafts kits, homemade cards and treasure and treat kits.
---Day for Girls: creating a more dignified, humane and sustainable world for girls through advocacy, reproductive health awareness, education and sustainable feminine hygiene because no girl should go without
---Knit a Square: keep the orphans of South Africa warm, knitters and crocheters of the world to send an 8x8" (20x20cm) squares and other items
---Knit Your Bit: honor WWII veterans by creating a cozy, scarf to be donated to a veteran
---Knot of Love: caps for chemo patients
---Lion Brand's Charity Connection: database of charities that accept knitted and crocheted items
---Operation Write Home:  Create handmade cards for soldiers and sailors to write back home to their loved ones in. OWH also collects "Hero Mail", handmade cards which include a note of thanks or encouragement inside.
---Partnering With Heroes is accepting Paracord Survival Bracelets: Paracord Instructions on Site
---Project Linus: handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0-18, All blanket styles are welcome, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors.
---Project Thrive: Making Kits for young girls to use during that time of the month to keep clean, and still attend school
---Recovery Buddies: knit or crochet "recovery buddies" to help people through a variety of addictions and mental illnesses including eating disorders, self-injury as well as others.
---Snuggles Project: Make crochet, knitted, sewn "Snuggies" for abandoned pets
---Soldiers' Angels: many programs to send care pacckages and item to our military
---Stitches from the Heart: crocheted, knitted, quilted, and loomed baby hats, blankets, sweaters and booties items infants and their families in NICUs coast-to-coast
---The Red Scarf Project: warm the hearts (and necks) of foster youth; red scarves are accepted between September 1 and December 15 annually
---The Ships Project: sends handmade hats, slippers, and Cool-Ties to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed across the world
---The Sock Monkey Project: Making toys, from socks, for underprivileged children
---Quilt for Kids: accepts all cotton quilts for children in hospitals, who have life threatening illnesses


Finding Local Ways to Donate
Needs differ from area to area, make sure to call before donating so items don't go to waste.
---Animal Shelters: pet blankets, nice photography of pets to rise likelihood of being adopted, create stuffies that can be sold for fundraising
---Battered Women's Shelters: looking for clothing, blankets, home items
---Fire Station: bake a treat for your local firefighters
---Homeless Shelters: blankets, hats, scarves, gloves, mittens
---Hospitals: blankets, caps, pillows (especially heart patients, it helps with coughing spells after surgery), dolls for children, art kits for children (especially burn victims for they can't have stuffies because of injuries)
---Hospice: blankets, hats, slippers
---Nursing Homes: lap blankets, slippers, small treats for the holidays
---Schools: craft an item for auction, ask school counselor of any needs


S.P.E.W. Members
Ant Bee
Critter10
Eiseldora
Hazelhoneylove
indigo_roses
IsikkahJai
jennieingram
katara
nisforneville
pinkleo
pottermouth
sdelnegro514
Smmarrt
Toralune
WhistleFish


And make sure to check out Craftster's Crafting for Good and Not Evil Board for more ideas!

2012 SPEW Accomplishments

* HPCers: Projects can be submittedf for both SPEW & a HPC project.

[pinkleo]

~2013 Projects~

January
---Eiseldora: Hosted Craft for Charity Group, Locks of Love
---Hazelhoneylove: Day for Girls 10 liners & 1 shield
---indigo_roses: 12 Squares, 12 more Squares
---nisforneville: A hat, a scarf & 2 squares for KAS, 1 PRR square, 6 PRR Squares, 10 PRR Squares, 3 Ghan Strips, Recovery Buddie, Recovery Buddie2, RecoveryBuddie3
---pinkleo: 27 PRR Squares, 7 Rainbow Squares for PRR, 14 PRR Squares, 4 PRR squares
---pottermouth: 3 squares
---Smmarrt: 6 Pairs Socks to S. Africa

[pinkleo]

S.P.E.W. ALERT

CALLING ALL SPEW QUILTERS!

My February 20th Newsletter from Quilt for Kids asks for help because their cupboard is almost bare.  They have hospitals waiting for quilts that they don't have.  Please send as many as you can so that we can continue to wrap children in love.

[pinkleo]

~*SPEW Sundays*~

Sunday shall now be our day to gather our plans and devote time to charity crafting.  

My challenge to you is to take Sunday and either:

1. Post pics of your latest charity work.  WIPs are welcome!
2. Talk about your plans of your future charity crafting.
3. Post encourage comments for one of your fellow SPEW members.
4. Suggest a cause or bring attention a need that SPEW can work on.

Can't wait to see what you whip up.  Happy Crafting & Blessed Be!

[pinkleo]

~SPEW Badge Bakery~
*C.A.K.E. aka Caring Acts of Kindness Everywhere*
*Thank you Abeeroad, jennieingram, and patty_o_furniture for baking up these treats*

~Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions~

Dear Members of S.P.E.W.,  We here at Madam Malkin's have heard of your great mission in crafting protection spells for wizards and muggles alike.  We would like to honor your noble cause by offering you special robes.  These robes (aka avatars) are a great way to show off your S.P.E.W. Pride.  To add one of the robes below to your wardrobe, just click the image; it will open another window with a larger image, which you can right click and save to your computer.  Then, you can do whatever you wish with it (like add your name to it).  New robes are still arriving, so check back often.  May you have the best of success.  ~*Blessed Be, Madam Malkin

by jennieingram
   

by jillybeans


by patty_o_furniture
      

by rossie
      

[IsikkahJai]

mkay a little nervous being the first to comment here ( ) but I clicked on the Project Linus link and I was thrilled to learn there was a chapter in my own town! I contacted the chapter coordinator and asked if she was still in charge and if it was still active. I look forward to hearing from her soon. I remember (and still HAVE) my own baby blanket. It has Bambi on it and the edges were made with this silky material that I used to rub between my fingers to put myself to sleep at night. I liked the way it sounded  It has fiercely loved and it's faded now but I still have it. I think every little boy and girl should have a wonderful blankie to snuggle, especially when they're sick and in pain. (LOL, my daughter has already been through 3 of her "baby blankets". We keep having to remake them because they're so abused----I mean loved )

Okay, I literally started crying when I read about Project Thrive. What fantastically wonderful People! Bless them, every one.

[pinkleo]

mkay a little nervous being the first to comment here ( ) but I clicked on the Project Linus link and I was thrilled to learn there was a chapter in my own town! I contacted the chapter coordinator and asked if she was still in charge and if it was still active. I look forward to hearing from her soon. I remember (and still HAVE) my own baby blanket. It has Bambi on it and the edges were made with this silky material that I used to rub between my fingers to put myself to sleep at night. I liked the way it sounded  It has fiercely loved and it's faded now but I still have it. I think every little boy and girl should have a wonderful blankie to snuggle, especially when they're sick and in pain. (LOL, my daughter has already been through 3 of her "baby blankets". We keep having to remake them because they're so abused----I mean loved )

Okay, I literally started crying when I read about Project Thrive. What fantastically wonderful People! Bless them, every one.

YAY!  Thanks for being our first SPEW member to visit!  I think everyone is so wrapped up in Quidditch that they haven't stopped by, but I suspect that in the Fall it will pick up, with SPEW bonus points and all.

Project Linus is fabulous, and the chapters make it so easy (there seems to be a chapter everywhere).  I'm a lucky blanketeer because the dropoff point in my area is at a local sewing shop (actually there are 9 dropoffs near me!). 

I can't wait to see your Linus blanket!

[sdelnegro514]

I was so happy when I saw this craftalong yesterday!  I will definitely be posting projects here.
I'm highly interested in the Knot of Love and Snuggles Project.

Thank you pinkleo for posting this!

[WhistleFish]

I'm so joining. (Although my crafting to do list keeps growing...) I think I'll do the Snuggles and Knit A Square.

[pinkleo]

I was so happy when I saw this craftalong yesterday!  I will definitely be posting projects here.
I'm highly interested in the Knot of Love and Snuggles Project.

Thank you pinkleo for posting this!

I'm so joining. (Although my crafting to do list keeps growing...) I think I'll do the Snuggles and Knit A Square.

YAY!  More SPEW members!  Y'all just don't know how amazingly happy this makes me! 

I can't wait to see your crafty magic!