Kelly Morgan

Have you ever wondered what you can do with all those cross-stitch patterns and projects that once completed you're not sure where to hang them or who to give them to? You have! Well why not cross-stitch for charity?  There are plenty of organizations that can use your projects to donate to children, families, and senior citizens around the world.

Some people choose to create crafts that combine their skills.  For instance, if you also sew, there are charities that will accept your teddy bears, clothing, and quilts for donation.  There are also charities that accepts your knitted goods and more for the people in need.  Whether cross-stitch is your only craft or one skill in a long line of crafts, there are plenty of people in need of your skills.  Why not use that skill to give a little piece of yourself to the world around you?

Here are some charitable organizations that can use your cross-stitch crafts:

World Trade Center Commemorative Quilt

(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wtcquilt/)

This group created a memory quilt that included all the names of those who lost their lives on 9-11.  It began as a quilt for the 343 firefighters who lost their lives that day.  Now, a member of the group needs help cross-stitching the 150 panels needed for the other quilt to commemorate all the names of those lost that day. 

Quilts 4 Kids

(http://www.quilts4kids.com/)

Quilts 4 Kids creates quilts for ill children in Australia.  Stitchers come from all over the world to create warm quilts for sick children under 19.  You can sign up to do theme squares along with personalized squares to create these unique quilts.

Warm Hearts -- Warm Babies

(http://www.warmheartswarmbabies.org/)

This delightfully named group creates blankets for premature babies in the Colorado area.  They donate the blankets to hospitals, crisis pregnancy centers, shelters, law enforcement, foster care, and people in need throughout the state. 

Hearts and Hands

(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/heartshands2003/)

This group encourages crafters who want to do more to help out others with their craftiness.  They include members who do crafts of all kinds, including cross-stitch.

Friends to Seniors

(http://www.friends2seniors.com/)

With so many elderly people who live lonely lives in senior citizen homes, a hand-crafted gift can mean the world to them.  This charity accepts cross-stitch gifts of all kinds to be donated to residents of senior centers or elderly individuals living on their own.

Webb Babies

(http://www.webb-babies.org/)

Webb babies is an all-volunteer organization that accepts donations of blankets and sewn items to be donated to neonatal intensive care units and their families.

Operation Teddy Bear

(http://www.operationteddybear.ca/)

Operation Teddy Bear takes cross-stitched squares and puts them into a quilt to be sold as a fundraiser.  The recipients of the money changes each year, but the money rasied by selling these quilts goes to helping children in need.

TLC for Angels

(http://www.tlcforangels.com/index.html)

Each year TLC for angels selects three hospitals as recipients of hand-made items to be donated to people in need.  They accept blankets, clothing, toys and more, all of which can be made via cross-stitch.  The organizations is a federally approved non-profit organization.

Project Linus

(http://www.projectlinus.org/index.shtml)

Project Linus is a 100 percent volunteer driven non-profit organization that provides blankets to ill, traumatized, and needy children around the world.  They sponsor a "Make a Blanket Day" every year.  They also have chapters all over the U.S. that you are able to join with other crafters.

Love Quilts to Make a Child Smile

(http://lovequilts2macs.homestead.com/LQHomepage.html)

Love Quilts encourage people who love cross-stitch to donate their stitched quilting squares to be made into blankets for sick children.  You can add your name and city to your project so the recipients can enjoy knowing where the squares came from. 

Care Wear

(http://www.carewear.org/)

Care Wear is a nationwide group of volunteers who knit, crochet, and sew.  They provide handmade baby items to hospitals.  All Care Wear items are given free to infants, children and their parents.

These are just a few of the charities who need your cross stitch pieces. Wherever you live there will be similar organizations equally needy. So! Next time you complete a cross stitch piece that doesn't have a pre-planned home, why not give it to charity?