Hawaiian Care Package to the Frozen North
80
degrees in Honolulu
-10
degrees in Minneapolis
Maybe it was a coincidence,
but a bag full of hats arrived today from Honolulu where the natives are
basking in the sunshine while the Minneapolis folks are wearing layers of
clothing to fight off the bitter cold.
It’s our seventh year of collecting hats, scarves and mittens to donate to the schools, shelters, and
community centers that serve the homeless and the needy. On November 11,
60 charity knitters came together to knit and crochet items for the project. 100’s
of hats were turned in that day from knitters who had been knitting all year. Over
the course of the year, 2600 hats were made, plus scarves and mittens. We were
able to deliver donations to over 30 drop-off sites who serve people in need. Hats
make up the largest number of our donations.
Monica Nilsson, an advocate
for the homeless who works at St. Stephen’s Shelter spoke to the group about
what it’s like to be a homeless person living in Minneapolis and surviving our
frigid winters. She spoke about how our community is serving people in need of
housing…very informative speech. Although, Monica herself is not a knitter, she
had one piece of good advice for all of us…” KNIT YOUR HATS ON SMALLER NEEDLES SO THE STITCHES ARE TIGHTER….MAKES FOR A WARMER HAT.”
Hats for the Homeless has completed seven years and we have distributed over 11,000 hats in our
community thanks to the warm hearts of the generous people in our community,
not just Minneapolis, but all across the country.
Looking ahead to 2016, keep
the items coming; we collect all year round, starting deliveries in November
and wrapping things up in February. Read the blog, there are quite a few good
patterns to follow.
Once again, thanks for your gift
of warmth…everyone needs a hat to survive our bitter cold winters.
Barbara Melom
bjm@visi.com
