I recently found out about Giving Tuesday. It’s a movement that was founded in Canada in 2013 as a day to encourage people to do good. The idea caught on, and has grown around the world, inspiring hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. The event date falls on the Tuesday after Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.
Inspired by this idea, I thought it was a good opportunity to highlight the local organizations we donate to year-round and for our Sweet Yarnies to do some good with our crafting.
Sweet Yarns supports a few local organizations. Throughout the year, we take in donations of yarn or finished items to go to these four organizations.
The Birthing Centre at HSN – It would be wonderful to be able to send each of the approximately 1650 little darlings born at HSN home with a handmade hat. The Birthing Centre is always looking for hats of all baby sizes. I usually recommend using acrylic yarns in a dk weight for these as they are hypoallergenic and machine washable, and most modern patterns are written for that weight of yarn.
The Cancer Centre at HSN – over 3000 new patients come to our local Cancer Centre each year. The Cancer Centre is always looking for more squares (8” x 8”) or afghans (36” x 48”) so each new patient gets a handmade afghan. If you’re interested in making them, Sweet Yarns’ Anthem yarn is perfect for these.
The Elizabeth Centre – This long term care home is located in Val Caron and has approximately 128 residents. In past years, we’ve donated lap-sized afghans (36” x 48”) to the residents. Machine washable yarns are best for these gifts as well.
The Salvation Army – Their Food Bank is one of 15 serving Greater Sudbury. They also put together hampers that contain all the food to make a Christmas dinner and gifts for the kids in the family. This year, they have over 800 households signed up to receive these Christmas hampers. If you’re looking to donate items to the Salvation Army’s clients, accessories of any kind would be more than welcome (hats, mittens, socks, etc.).