There’s a distinct feeling you get when doing something kind for another person. Random acts of kindness, which have been quickly gaining favor on the internet and in classrooms, are a wonderful way to connect with your community. To celebrate National Mitten month in January, AllFreeKnitting teamed up with Lion Brand to run a mitten charity drive, with all of the donations going to Mittens for Detroit.
As mitten submissions started rolling in, I was delighted to see the huge response to our charity drive. I don’t think there’s a person in the United States who wouldn’t say that this has been one cold winter. Together, our readers were able to donate over 100 pairs of hand knit and crochet mittens. I loved opening up the packages of hats as they arrived at our office; many had little notes tucked inside, giving me a glimpse into the lives of our incredibly kind and generous readers. Many people included notes to the eventual recipients of the mittens, and I made sure each one was passed on. Seeing all of the different ways our readers found to make mittens was truly inspiring. Knowing that there are people who were generous enough to help complete strangers makes you feel a little bit better about the world. All of the editors at Stitch & Unwind would like to thank all of our readers, who really made this charity drive a smashing success.
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The recipients of these cozy mittens are going to be very happy when they see all of the delightful mittens our readers created. These photos should give you an idea of how many mittens we’re talking about. (I had to ship them off in three different boxes!) I was totally blown away by the amazing generosity of everyone who donated to our charity drive. I think my favorite submission came from the Sandburg Middle School crochet club. The girls included an adorable picture of the club members in the mittens they had crocheted. I was so incredibly happy to see all of those young girls learning such an enjoyable fun skill, and putting it to work to help others.
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Now, you’re probably all wondering who gets the fabulous yarn gift from Lion Brand Yarn. Well, we randomly selected the winner from the mitten donations we received, and Edith F. was our winner! Thank you again to everyone who participated in our charity drive and to everyone who helped spread the word. We couldn’t have done any of this without our amazing readers!
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Thank you to everyone who contributed their time, energy, and good will to these mittens! I cannot wait to open the boxes! Yes, it is still very cold in Michigan (I woke up this morning in Metro Detroit to see -4 as the real temperature…). I will get these beautiful gifts out to our agencies immediately upon receiving them. Thank you, everyone, for helping to warm Detroit hearts, two hands at a time. Follow us on Facebook to keep in touch! ~ Wendy, Mittens for Detroit