This month Marie is bringing us some tips & tricks for finding a local charity you can send your crochet donations to!

If you are unable to help personally, please share this with your friends online – you never know – you may reach someone who is able to make a difference! If you would like to contribute too, we encourage you to crochet the featured free pattern this month and donate it to a local charity of your own. ♥ Rhondda

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Tips and Tricks – How To Find a Local Charity That Accepts Crocheted Donations

I’m Marie Segares from Underground Crafter and I’m delighted to be Rhondda’s guest for the last charity spotlight of 2017. Today, I’m not highlighting one particular charity. Instead, I’m sharing my 3 best tips for finding a local charity that you can contribute handmade donations to. This will help you save on postage costs while also supporting your own local community.

1) Start by identifying what you’d like to support

I firmly believe that when you’re passionate about crocheting for charity, you’ll put more love into each stitch. That makes crochet more fun for you and I think that kindness carries over to the recipient. Dig deep and think about whether there is a cause (such as homelessness or cancer recovery), a population (such as children, the elderly, or animals), or a project type (such as scarves, blankets, or hats) that you feel strongly about. Once you’ve identified the cause, population, or project you’d like to focus your crochet super powers on, go on to the next step.

2) Find a local match

Search for organizations in your local area that accept handmade donations that fit your passion. In the U.S., you can start by asking around at your local Crochet Guild of America chapter. Talk to people at your local yarn shop, craft supply store, workplace, or house of worship to see if there is an organization that someone you trust is already partnered with. You can also search websites like VolunteerMatch, Idealist, or CraigsList for volunteer opportunities related to yarn. Ask around in Ravelry groups for your area. And, if you’ve previously donated to a national or international organization featured in the Oombawka Design Crochet for Charity archives, visit that organization’s website to see if they have a local chapter.

3) Confirm the details

Contact the organization (or the host of a local charity drive) to get the details about any deadlines, yarn requirements (for color or fiber type), as well as sizing information. Make your projects to meet the guidelines so they can be donated as you intend, rather than discarded by the organization.

And, that’s it! You’re now ready to share your projects locally. If winter accessories are suitable for that organization, can I recommend my free crochet pattern for the Handy Scarf? This pattern is pretty much guaranteed to bring a smile to the recipient’s face. It’s sized for teens and adults, though you could make the scarf part shorter for a child.