10+ Great Charities for Crafters!

There are many ways for crafters to donate their time and talent for charitable causes. Here is a list of 10+ great ways for Crafters to give back, from card making for deployed military, clothing for needy children, to teddy bears for children of tragedy, cancer hats and preemie blankets for hospitals. There is a charity just waiting for you to help.

Crafters, Artists, Knitters, Quilters Give Back

Please visit the sites of the Charities for Crafters below. Many of them have links and resources for other ways to help.

• • Dressed in Hope is a Charity that makes clothing for needy children. They make sweet little Sundresses for Girls, out of quilting fabric, and each Dress comes with a Pocket that has a little Doll inside of it! Even if you don’t sew you can help at a local location by cutting fabric, ironing, or painting faces on the Dolls.
  • The Sewing Machine Project is a great way for fabric artists and quilters to help people move on from tragedy. They offer sewing classes and machines to those whose lives may be enhanced by a sewing machine. It offers them a creative means to move forward. TSMP can use working sewing machines, fabric, rulers, sharp scissors and snips, new thread, pins, sewing machine needles, seam rippers, marking pencils, tape measures.
  • Project Linus volunteers donate handmade quilts and blankets to children in need via local chapters. The group has donated more than 6 million quilts since 1995! Their mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
  • Support Military Spouses is a way to show your appreciation by making a card or writing a letter! Wives and husbands of service members are often overlooked for the love and support they provide their active-duty spouses. Their commitment and patriotic sacrifices such as living far from family, friends, and even spouses for several months at a time are also frequently unacknowledged.
  • Teddies for Tragedies When tragedy strikes somewhere in the world, the first members of society to suffer are the children. Teddies for Tragedies works to alleviate some of the stress that prevails when these catastrophes occur. The simple gift of a hand-knitted teddy bear sends these children the message that someone in the world cares for them and that they are loved.
  • Quilts of Valor supports servicemen and servicewomen returning from active duty. QoV accepts quilt blocks, quilt tops, and works with volunteer longarm quilters interested in serving their cause. The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor. Guildelines can be found on their website.
  • The Ships Project is a great way to make a difference in the lives of those military members who are deployed on the ground or at sea.
    They provide “hugs from home” in the form of hand-knit and crocheted hats, slippers, knitted socks, sewn fleece hats, and sewn cool ties. They also supply warm items to those who have been injured or wounded.
  • Enchanted Makeovers Stepping Into the Dream paints tennis shoes for children and teens in shelters. The program is about connecting artists with children so they can share their dreams with each other. The child’s dream is then painted (together by the artist and the child) onto a pair of canvas sneakers. EM has several other ways for crafters to be involves.
  • Care Wear is a nationwide group of volunteers who knit, crochet, and/or sew handmade baby items you can donate directly to your local hospitals. All Care Wear items are distributed by hospital staff  FREE to infants, children and their parents.
  • Bev’s Country Cottage provides free patterns for crafters who love to make warm, needed items for humanitarian purposes. She offers patterns for all kinds of items: cancer hats, preemie hats and booties, senior citizen lapghans and slippers, kids mittens, cat blankets, leprosy bandages and much more. Check out the charity listings on this site.
  • Operation We Are Here sends cards and letters to deployed military, caregivers of wounded soldiers, Gold Star families, and much more. It is a one stop resource for helping our military families.
  • Chemo Hat Patterns offers several styles to sew and donate to your local hospital. Hair loss can be a traumatic, devastating situation. Unfortunately, appropriate head coverings are often difficult to find and expensive when available. Chemohat sewing patterns offers instant solutions.
  • Elizabeth’s Canvas takes donations of artwork to support free programs for cancer patients and survivors. It provides art classes, supplies, and creative instruction they need to better cope with their symptoms, improve their well-being, and live empowered lives.

I hope you found some great ideas to use your talents to help or bring a little cheer to others! I would love to hear what some of your favorites Charities for Crafters are as well.