Handmade for Charity

Shortcuts to: Charities Accepting Handmade Items, Other Lists of Charity Links, Charity Resources.

There are many organizations that are interested in receiving handmade items to be given to people in need of a bit of support. Anything you can contribute will be greatly appreciated. While your individual contribution may seem too small to matter, if many of us contribute in our own small way it adds up. And what we do does make a difference to someone.

You can probably find a number of organizations near you that would be willing recipients of your efforts.

  • Contact your local hospital and ask for Volunteer Services.
  • Look in the Yellow Pages under "Social Services Organizations" (for family and social services groups) and under "Crisis Intervention Services" (for women's shelters). Call and ask how you can help.
  • Contact a local nursing home or hospice.
  • Homeless shelters often need quilts, bedding, warm hats, clothing, and personal items for clients who may be male or female and any age.
  • Ask friends and coworkers if they know of an organization that can use handmade items.
  • Ask your minister/pastor/priest/rabbi/religous leader.
  • Ask at the local school; some there will likely know of organizations that provide assistance to families in need.
  • Ask your local police or sheriff's department or city hall.

For tips on choosing materials, assembling and finishing items, please visit my Tips on Making Items for Charity page.

If you know of a link that you think should be on this list or have any suggestions about this page, please contact SusanB.

Charities Accepting Handmade Items

Subcategories: USA Nationwide, USA Regional, USA Military, International.

United States Charities (Nationwide)

  • Binky Patrol distributes handmade blankets to children who are sick, abused or in foster care.
  • Care Wear provides wearing apparel for premature and low birthweight infants in neonatal intensive care units.
  • ChemoCaps - knit chemocaps and donate them to a cancer treatment center near you.
  • Christmas-at-Sea seeks volunteers to knit seafarers caps, scarves and more. Sponsored by the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey.
  • Crochet for Cancer gives handmade chemo caps for patients with hair loss. There are chapters in the USA, Canada and Austrailia.
  • Handmade Especially for You distributes comfort scarves for women in domestic violence shelters in California.
  • HeartStrings Quilt Project is a group of online quilters who make String Quilts and donate them to local charities.
  • Knit for Kids donates handmade sweaters and blankets to needy children around the world. Suggested knitting and crochet patterns are available on their website. Knit for Kids was started in 1996 by Guideposts magazine.
  • Knots of Love volunteers crochet and knit caps for chemo patients and blankets for babies in NICU incubators. Headquartered in Ashland, WI, USA, Knots of Love has cap drop locations across the United States.
  • Mother Bear Project makes knitted and crocheted teddy bears to provide comfort and hope to children.
  • Newborns in Need, Inc. Accepts handmade baby clothing, quilts, blankets and toys to distribute to needy families with newborn babies. The site has a few basic patterns and links to some others and guidelines for sewn baby clothing.
  • Online Angels spreads love one box at a time by distributing a variety of items.
  • Prayer Shawl Ministry. Make shawls for people needing comfort.
  • Project Linus provides security blankets to children who are seriously ill or who are in traumatic situations. The ideal blanket size is 40" x 60". There are many local chapters across the country.
  • Quilts for Kids transforms fabric into quilts for children facing serious illness, trauma and abuse.
  • The Snuggles Project is devoted to providing blankets to make animals more comfortable in their cages at animal shelters.
  • Threads of Love provides clothing, blankets and other handmade articles for premature and sick infants. Threads of Love has chapters in the United States and London, England.
  • Victoria's Quilts. Quilts for cancer patients.
  • Warm Up America (WUA) works with community service organizations and the American Red Cross to distribute warm, hand-made blankets to to those who need them. Volunteers knit or crochet one or more 7" x 9" blanket sections or entire afghans. The sections are combined with sections made by other volunteeres and assembled into blankets.

United States Charities (Regional)

  • Bella's Babies supplies baby blankets and clothing to Southside Hospital in Bayshore, NY.
  • Bundles of Love is a nonprofit organization in Minnesota dedicated to helping infants and their families.
  • Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts needs handmade baby blankets for Welcome Baby gift bags.
  • Holy Needles creates items for those in need in the Tucson, Arizona area. There is more info on the Holy Needles Facebook page.
  • House of Dreams seeks donations of handcrafted articles for its' annual Pretty Kitty Holiday Craft Bazaar. House of Dreams is a non-profit, all volunteer, no-kill cat shelter in Portland, Oregon.
  • Pine Ridge Reservation needs a variety of warm clothing, blankets and baby items. Website inclludes a variety of pattern links.
  • Quilts from Caring Hands. This group in Oregon make quilts for children at risk in Benton, Linn and Marion counties.
  • Stitching Up The World knits, crochets and sews items to donate to a variety of organizations. Their main effort is items for chemotherapy patients in New Hampshire, Based in Candia, NH, USA.
  • Tiny Stitches is based in Gwinnett County, Georgia and provides basic layettes to disadvantaged newborns and preemies in north Georgia. They also provide burial ensembles to families who lose an infant.

United States Charities (Military)

  • American Hero Quilts wants each of our injured service members returning from war through a military hospital to receive a patriotic quilt.
  • Knit Your Bit. Knit a scarf to help the National WWII Museum honor World War II veterans.
  • Operation Shower gives baby showers for military families across the country and welcomes donations of handmade baby items.
  • Quilts of Valor - quilts for servicemen and veterans touched by war.
  • Socks For Soldiers knits socks for soldiers serving in the Middle East.

International Charities (non-United States)

  • Crochet for Cancer gives handmade chemo caps for patients with hair loss. There are chapters in the USA, Canada and Austrailia.
  • Threads of Love provides clothing, blankets and other handmade articles for premature and sick infants. Threads of Love has chapters in the United States and London, England.
  • Victoria's Quilts Canada. Quilts for cancer patients.
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Other Lists of Charity Links

Charity Resources

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