Most places that accept handmade donations want those donations to be made from acrylic or cotton. For many knitting charities, such as Warm Up America, it's purely a matter of practicality: they use industrial washers to wash everything that comes in, and they don't want to worry about stuff felting. For others, it's a matter of the type of items they accept. SACK accepts soap sacks to distribute to homeless shelters, so they ask that donations be made primarily out of plant fibers, which are well suited for that kind of project. Charities that accept donations for nursing homes, hospices, or hospitals also want items that are easy to wash, but they are also concerned with skin sensitivities and often ask for donations to be made from hypoallergenic materials, such as cotton or acrylic. Today Is a Good Day is one such organization.
So, what do you do if you have a stash of wool or other non-hypoallergenic yarns that you want to use up and want to donate? Some places do actually accept items that are handwash only or have significant wool content. Charities that distribute items to the homeless will sometimes accept woolen items, not just because the of benefits of wool, but also because distributed items are often never washed before they wear out. If you have a local homeless shelter to donate to, you can always call and check.
The charities that distribute items to people on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Lakota Reservations (If you are on Ravelry, here's a list of organizations. I send an annual box to the White Buffalo Calf Women's Society) accept woolen items for all ages, because most residents do not have washing machines and are reliant on hand washing to do their laundry. The exception is the nursing home, which asks that everything donated be machine washable for their industrial machines.
Wool-Aid (link goes to pdf brochure) distributes woolen items to various charities that provide goods to children in countries around the world that have cold winters. They ask that items donated be at least 80% wool and that the yarn used be worsted weight or heavier. They accept sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, socks, and blankets and focus on items for children ages 8-16.
Maya Midwifery accepts baby items in any fiber, so long as you wash the items before donating them. The recipients live in poor communities in Guatemala, and items will only ever be handwashed. They accept hats, socks/booties, sweaters, blankets, and sleep sacks. While they primarily distribute items for 0-6 month old infants, they also accept items for older siblings.
Hats For Sailors does exactly what its name implies. They distribute handmade hats as holiday gifts to deployed sailors in the US Navy. I'm including this organization with a caveat: while they do ask that donated hats be made of wool, they require that wool to be superwash.
Many animal shelters accept donations of handmade blankets and mats to put in their kennels, since the kennels often have cold concrete floors. Some shelters want just acrylic. Others accept mats made from "plarn." Others will take mats that are felted. Check with the shelter you are thinking of donating to before making anything.
Most recently, the nonprofit organization that runs my daughter's gymnastics class put out a call for donations for a raffle. Since it was a raffle, I could donate anything I thought people would want, so I donated a wool/silk shawl I had made as a pattern sample. Lots of people and organizations fundraise through raffles, so it's a good opportunity to donate items that normally wouldn't be practical as charitable donations.
Regardless of where you donate, if you send anything that isn't acrylic, please label your donations with their fiber content and, if possible, washing instructions. And always wash whatever you make before you pop it in the mail or drop it off.
If you want to make things to donate, there are tons of charities that will accept all kinds of donations, and that makes charity stitching a great way to stash bust! Whatever you want to make to donate, there's probably an organization out there that will accept it. It's just a matter of finding the right one.
This post has been linked to HIH, Busy Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Senior Salon, WITS, Wonderful Wednesday, The Stitchin' Mommy, Thursday Favorite Things, and Create-It!
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