charities + orgs.

More information about charities and organizations you should know about.

Raising Awareness Stitch By Stitch.

| Betsy

Many moons ago, I volunteered for The Prince’s Trust in Watford, Hertfordshire. As for the town of Watford, let’s just say my English friends mocked me as much as I would get here in the US if I moved to New Jersey. Some places just get a bad rap. Although living in a YMCA on a hall of girls training to be cruise liner beauticians was not the best experience, I did learn how bright those spotlighty things on helicopters are when one arrived late one night near the YMCA. It was there to help break up a riot in town. Good times, indeed. Moving on…

So, memory lane and all, I was especially touched to learn today that a bunch of elderly Watford knitters (and a few from Elstree) got together and broke the Guinness Book of Records for largest knitted tea cosy. The squares for the cosy were knitted by local knitters along with submissions from knitters around the world. Way to go Watford (and Elstree) knitters! I was even more touched when I read that they were knitting the cosy “to help raise awareness of loneliness concerning elderly people!” This effort was part of BUPA’s delightfully named ‘communi-tea week.’ How delightfully English sounding, no?

I think every nation should band together, pick a week and make an effort to hang out and drink tea, especially as there are so many people out there who could use a little company! “More than a third of older people in the UK, including half of all women aged over 65, now live alone. It is a frightening statistic but Communi-tea Week aims to bring together those who may be struggling on their own by reaching out over a friendly cup of tea.”

What I like the most about this tea cosy is that it shows how with a little creativity, you can use your crafts for good in all sorts of ways. While the tea cosy wasn’t protesting for a ban on pesticides or to stop child labor, it was a project formed to raise an awareness about a different sort of problem. Sometimes problems such as elderly individuals and loneliness get ignored in light of giant disasters, so it’s nice to see a week arranged to raise awareness for them. Hmm…maybe it’s about time to invite some friends ’round for a cuppa and conversation. Just as long as someone brings the HobNobs, I’ve got enough tea to caffeinate, well… New Jersey, perhaps.

Do you know how long the fastest game of Operation is? Or the fastest time someone can pluck a turkey? People are awesome.

The Heart Of Craftivism.

| Betsy

“Knitting is a symbol of many things, knitting together things that have been broken, and our society has been broken… knitting is a symbol of hoping that we can bring some kind of unity.” (from the Northern Ireland video from Shannon Airport below)

This morning I was happy to receive a link to Yoko Ono’s “Revelations”, the version remixed by Cat Power for Ono’s 2007 album Yes, I’m a Witch. The link came in the daily newsletter email I get from Danielle LaPorte over at White Hot Truth. I love how some days just what you needs pops into your inbox like magic.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot what craftivism is, as I’m collecting photographs over at Documenting Craftivism, a project that right now is a loose collection to help define the term. I’ve also been watching some lovely videos that also speak to the heart of craftivism. I’ve been looking into the work of some larger organizations, (Aid to Artisans, Peace x Peace, Women for Women International to name but a few) but there are also some smaller groups speaking to craft + activism as well.

Some of these videos made me cry in their honesty and sincerity wishes for peace and hope, may you enjoy them as much as I did. I don’t always agree with all of the words and banners, but I always agree with the sentiments. Creativity. Peace. Hope. Love.


Granny Peace Brigade.
Knitting for Peace, Times Square, NYC, March 19, 2008.




The Mother Bear Project.
Showing how easy it is to post knitted donations, an adorable short first time attempt at stop motion!



Help Child Soldiers.
Lovely clip from a women’s knitting circle working on knitted donations.




Knitting for peace at Shannon airport in Northern Ireland January 6, 2009 on Nollaig na mban (Women’s Christmas). There is some really interesting Irish and knitting history in here!




And one from a different side of craftivism: helping the world heal itself. The work of Rwanda Knits. Part of the proceeds from Knitting for Good! went to this charity, as I really love the work they are doing with refugee women.

“To Not Speak, Is to Fail the Possibility of Humanity.”

| Betsy

Sometimes when I go to the library I feel like I’m dowsing for water. I wander and roam and pick up this book and that book, until something feels right and truly resonates. My most recent library trip led me to James Orbinski’s An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the 21st Century. Orbinski worked for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) for many years, and then later founded Digitas International, an organization that helps people with HIV/AIDS in areas where it runs rampant have access to affordable medication.

I finished the book late last night, and was touched by the way Orbinski included stories of the people he met along the way in places like Rwanda, Zaire and Sudan. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re interested in the politics of humanitarianism and action. At times it’s heartbreaking, empowering and inspiring, but there was one point where I realized why I had been “led” to this book in the library that day. It’s the basic tenet of craftivism on page 290, and includes a quote by Jose Antonio Bastos, who worked with MSF to aid the Rwandan refugees in South Kivu, Zaire escaping genocide in 1994:

“Contrary to what some poets say, all is not fair in love and war,” Jose said. “Even if it is impossible to help the refugees, we must keep trying, and find the truth of what is happening, and we must speak. Sometimes speaking is the only action that is possible. To not speak, is to fail the possibility of humanity. No, all is not fair in love and war,” he repeated. “If we are to remember or even discover what love really is, what peace really is, if there is to be real hope for any of us, we need to be reminded of this.”

When we make crafts that speak to our frustrations, hurts, anger, we are continuing the conversation that our world is not a just one, but one full of hope nonetheless. Your hands give you the freedom to speak even when you don’t think your voice will carry. Just remember that they are important, necessary and truthful as we may live in a sometimes unfair world, but a world where our actions help others speak up and gather the courage to fight as well. Your voice will carry, whether it comes from your mouth or your hands, as it all comes from the heart.

How Quickly We Forget. (And Bushfire Donation List)

| Betsy

Seeing that I was sick on Valentine’s Day, I never got to post the following photo. I still don’t understand how these hearts in the big plastic bag made it pass the cut and were allowed to mingle with tiny pastel hearts that say “kiss me” or “in love” or even the somewhat pathetic attempt to remain hip, “u r the 1.” It may seem completely unrelated to the rest of the post, but deep down, I think it makes sense somehow?

It’s been a few days since the bushfires caused havoc in Australia. It’s out of our radar now for those of us outside of Australia. Old news.

We have other conflicts and troubles and fights and skuffles to take care of, so there’s a few days spent on illuminating a disaster and then it’s time to move on. It’s always after the news cameras turn away their gaze that people need your help most. I’ve been sick for the past few days and largely away from the computer, and was worried because I hadn’t posted the links that my new friend Bev had sent me. What was I worried about? That they would disappear? That something bigger would happen? Something closer to home?

Has our culture truly turned into one of “out of sight out of mind?” Do problems only resonate with us if and when we are personally touched by them? Sometimes I think this is true, sometimes I completely disagree. I guess then maybe the answer is quite simply, sometimes. If there is a personal connection to an issue/event/cause that tugs at your own heartstrings already, when someone comes along telling you more or asking for donations, we’re more likely to step up and listen or check our pockets for extra change.

I struggle with why I feel the way I do about certain issues and how those close to me don’t feel the same sense of anger or confusion or change. I know it’s often due to some minor event in someone’s life that brought attention to various things, meeting a Somali refugee on the bus, having a classmate with spina bifida, reading an article on teenage suicide in a magazine at the doctor’s office. And I wonder if later we can recall the moment our feelings changed and why, or if we just find ourselves with the urge to fight, help or save.

I like the fact that something I read about today may intertwine with the way I act in the future, even if I don’t really know what it said or where it was. It’s all about that resonation, the way ideas and things and people sink in you and stay no matter what the news or our friend or our country is telling us. It means that not everything is out of sight out of mind.

So you want to help raise money for bushfire victims? Here are some good places to start:

Handmade Help
*A new Melbourne-based craft blog that will keep you up-to-date on crafty things for sale whose proceeds are going to help fire victims.

The Toy Society
*The well-known secret service of softies who collect toys for kids in need!

Curly Pops
*50% of all the sales in this shop up until Feb 22 will go to the…

Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal

Rainbow Comfort Packs
*Collecting toys for children affected by the bushfires

Rayna’s collecting donations and selling crafts for the Australian Red Cross over here

For more information about the fires, check out this collection of bushfire news from Melbourne’s The Age.

Also interesting is an article on what caused so many people to die in the fires. You can read it here.