Review of 2015

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