Update on Knitting for Compassion

The haul from Pittsburgh for my Knitting for Compassion Project! Thank you, sisterhood ladies!
Twelve scarves collected this weekend from the sisterhood of my mother's temple in Pittsburgh. Plus one from Sharon at work. And two from my mom. And two more finished and two almost done by me. And one from Jan. And one from Christine. (Did I forget anyone? Remind me and we'll say a group Tada! for you, too.) That makes 21 scarves so far!
Here's a quick update: I'm helping to collect winter scarves to donate to a non-profit in Chicago that helps women and children transition from the shelter system to more permanent housing. The name of the organization is Housing Opportunities for Women; you can go here to read more about the great work being done by this agency. The scarves are going to be given, not to the moms, but to their kids, so they have at least one present to give for the holidays. Good cause, right?

And easy! It's the time of year when we all start going through drawers and closets, noticing how much stuff we have acquired that we no longer use. I'd bet that almost everyone has at least one in-good-shape scarf that she or a family member no longer uses. Let's redistribute it so that some special women have something to help keep them warm this Chicago winter!

Or you can knit or crochet or sew or felt a scarf. Or put together a kit of a skein or two of yarn from your stash and knitting or crochet needles (calling all aluminum straight knitting needles from those who've converted to circulars) that you don't use anymore, because some of the women would love to receive supplies to make their own scarves. Or you can buy a scarf. Nothing expensive: think about spending your daily coffee habit money on a scarf instead? (We call this the Latte Principle.)

The goal, remember, is to help someone else AND to make it easy, so that we begin to think about compassion as an every day thing, something that is a part of our normal activities, instead of something that calls for super-human effort and takes place only once a year.

Ideas? Questions? Better still, scarves to send? Email me at pegotty@att.net and I'll get back to you as soon as I see your note. Oh, and this little project has somehow become a test for a national project to be rolled out next year, so let's show 'em what we're made of!