Stitches from the Heart

Its time to give back!  I initially had thought about starting my own non-profit organization but to be honest I had no idea where to start and when I did start researching it, I felt completely overwhelmed.  My Aunt Gaby emailed me regarding a charity organization called Stitches from the Heart.  Based out of Santa Monica, Stitches from the Heart is an organization started by Kathy Silverton.  After hearing about premature babies going home from hospitals with very little, Kathy started knitting booties, blankets and hats to donate to hospitals.
Stitches from the Heart is now celebrating its 4th anniversary and has 12,000+ volunteers and has donated over half a million items to over 1,088 hospitals and charities around the country!  When I read about this amazing charity I knew I had to be a part of it!  Luis was born premature,  weighing just 3 lbs, and his parents were so incredibly poor so this charity definitely hits close to home for me.  I could only imagine how grateful his parents would have been for someone to give them a knitted blanket or hat handmade with love for a perfect stranger.  I cannot wait to start and I am looking forward to making someones first trip home with their baby a happy and warm one!

If anyone is interested in helping you can contact Stitches from the Heart through their website http://www.stitchesfromtheheart.org/.  Even if you don't crochet or knit, you can still contribute some way so I encourage you all to check out the website!

It's Time to Give Back

I am a lucky girl.  I have an amazing family, a warm place to sleep every night and I don't have to worry about where my next meal will come from.  But I realize that not everyone has these luxuries that we so often take for granted.  So I've thought of a way that I could give back.  I don't have a lot of money, I can't adopt 100 children or feed the homeless everyday, but I can take a hobby and turn it into a way to make people feel just a little more cozy at night.

When I was in college at Cal Poly Pomona, I used to commute about 60 miles each way to go to class.  Thankfully, my Tia Gaby lived just 10 minutes away from my school, so I would often times stay the night there if I didn't want to make the long trek home.  On the nights I stayed there, my Tia would teach me how to crochet and I loved doing it and more than anything, I loved that my great grandmother Mami Chayito taught her and she was passing her knowledge down to me.  Lately I have been crocheting a lot... I'm not great, but I do make a pretty awesome scarf!  Basically, at this point I can't make anything that isn't a rectangle or a square but I am determined to learn!  I am also determined to use this to give back.

So my plan for 2010 is to start a non-profit organization.  I will make scarves, blankets, eventually beanies mittens, and socks and pass them out to homeless shelters and those who are less fortunate.  I realize I'm not curing cancer but if my scarf can keep someone warm at night while not having to spend a dime on it, then I have accomplished my goal.  So all you crafty people out there who already crochet, or those of you who want to learn (I PROMISE its very easy!) I encourage you to help me in this endeavor.  Let me know if you would be interested in helping in anyway, whether it be actually making some pieces over the year, or just donating some yarn.  I will be getting all the details set up over the next few weeks so I will keep you all posted!

Now, I just have to come up with a cute name!