Nederlands
Gezocht! Een autochtone Nederlander die het kernteam komt versterken. Contact woolforwarmth@gmail.com
Winter Projects 2019-20 was a Great Success. 2020-21 will Surpass it!
Congratulations to our volunteers for the success of our Warm the Homeless Winter 2019-20 Projects. We delivered more than we thought possible to the homeless in The Hague Area:
- 2000 hats, scarves, sweaters, and pairs of socks
- 7200+ items of warm clothing
- 30 baby blankets
- 3 palliative care comfort blankets
- 20 infirmary comfort blankets
Some ask if we are done, but we are just getting started! The rest of The Netherlands is waiting for our gifts of warmth.
What we love about knitters and crocheters is that they work through the summer to prepare for the winter. These are our projects you can start now.
Winter 2020-21 Projects
Project Hats and Scarves: Neutral Knitting for the Men Please!
Around 85% of registered homeless are men. Like most men, homeless men prefer neutral, simple patterns in their hats and scarves. When given a choice, they ask for black, black, black, dark grey, navy blue, and brown. One of the benefits of making brand new items is that we can create exactly what it needed. Whenever possible, we try to fulfil this request. This does not mean that other patterns and colours are not welcome, but we do ask our makers to create neutral hat and scarf sets for the men. Scarves should be 25-30cm wide and 175cm long.
2020-21 target: 4,000 hat and scarf sets.
We give everything neutral to the men and everything colourful to the women. That is how our clients like it.
Project Hats and Scarves: If you like Colour, Knit for the Women
For knitters and crocheters that want to be creative, this is the project for you. We look for beauty, style, colour, and of course, warmth and functionality. All of the women’s hats and scarves are delivered to the homeless shelters, crisis centres, and through partners that assist homeless women.
2020-21 target: 600 hat and scarf sets.
Project Hats and Scarves: Kessler Stichting Women’s Day Action
Every year on International Women’s Day, the Kessler Stichting hosts a pamper day for 115 homeless women in The Hague. In 2019, we donated hats and scarves. 2020, we donated 115 granny shawls. In 2020, 115 very special items will be set aside for the Women’s Day Action. Please let us know of other Women’s Day actions for homeless women around The Netherlands. We are happy to support them with hats and scarves.
Women’s Day 2021 Target: 115 matching hat and scarf sets to the women’s action.
2021 we plan to donate 115 hat and scarf sets to the Kessler Stichting and are looking for another homeless women’s action to support. Send your suggestions.
Project StartKIDZ: Knitting for Brand-new Babies
For volunteers that love knitting and crocheting baby clothes, Wool for Warmth supports the Kessler Stichting StartKIDZ project. StartKIDZ is a charity within the Kessler Stichting that helps pregnant homeless women. A StartKit contains all of the items needed for a newborn baby’s first three months. This is perfect project for Wool for Warmth because there is nothing nicer than a handmade set of goodies for a newborn baby. In 2019, we made 30 baby blankets and a box full of baby clothes.
In 2020, we are making full StartKits:
- Baby blanket 60cm x 80cm
- Sweaters size 56 and 68
- Booties or socks x 3 pairs
- Sleeping bag
- Babysafe small toy max 15cm – no removable pieces, stuffing that cannot be pulled out from between the stitches.
- StartKits come in boy and girls, summer and winter. We are focussing on the winter kits.
2020-21 target: 50 StartKits half for boys and half for girls. Neutral kits will be divided evenly.
Comfort Blankets for Homeless Shelters
These projects are all about “lapjes”, or knitted/crocheted squares. There are many people that do not or cannot make scarves and other items, and we suggest they make squares. We have two projects for the lapjes:
Special thank you to Stichting Vrolijk Werk for sewing together 20 blankets from the lapjes we collected at the other clubs.
Palliative Care/Hospice Comfort Blankets
Every hospice patient at the Kessler Stichting receives their own blanket. This becomes a second skin and they keep it to the end of their lives. The hospice patient’s comfort blanket is buried with them in their casket. In 2019, we delivered three blankets to the Kessler Stichting.
Size: Lighter weight wool/acrylic,120cm x 150cm
Infirmary Comfort Blankets 120cm x 150cm
In 2019-20, Stichting Vrolijk Werk assisted us by sewing together lapjes and making 20 blankets for the infirmary at the Kessler Stichting. The purpose of this project is to improve the atmosphere of the infirmary to aid the care and recovery of the patients.
Who knits the lapjes? Everyone! Middin Daycare centre has clubs that make lapjes; some of the nursing homes; some people that prefer the size of a lapje over a larger project; and people that have bits of wool left over but not enough to make a full item. If your organisation has lapjes in the cupboard, please donate them to Wool for Warmth!
2020-21 target: 50 comfort blankets size 120cm x 150cm
Collecting Wool and Knitting and Crochet Tools and Needles
Wool for Warmth collects wool, knitting and crocheting needles and knitting rings to turn these into warmth for the homeless. Wool that lies around in attics and cupboards is turned into warmth. Various shops that ended their businesses donated their stock to Wool for Warmth. Want to donate wool and utensils? Please use the contact form to let us know!
Breigroepen
Wool for Warmth organiseert breigroepen waarin mensen breien of haken voor de daklozen. Deze groepjes bestrijden de eenzaamheid en brengen gezelligheid door samen te breien en te praten. Soms gaat het om ouderen die niemand hebben om voor te breien, soms wordt er gebreid in een taalcafé waar mensen hun Nederlands als tweede taal oefenen. Wool for Warmth zorgt ervoor dat alle producten persoonlijk bij daklozenorganisaties worden afgeleverd. De eerste groepen werken in Den Haag en omgeving, we willen uitbreiden naar de rest van Nederland en het buitenland. Wil je ook een groep starten of wil je je bij een groep aansluiten? Neem contact met ons op!
Wol en breinaalden inzamelen
Wool for Warmth zamelt wol, acrylgaren, brei- en haaknaalden en breiringen in en maakt daar producten mee die de daklozen warmte bezorgen. Op vele zolders en in kelders blijkt wol, breinaalden enzovoort te liggen. Ook ontvingen we voorraden voorraden van diverse breiwinkels die werden opgeheven.
Heeft u wol of naalden te doneren? Neem contact met ons op!
Lapjesdekens
Sommige breisters en breiers zijn nog niet zo handig, en sommige restjes wol zijn niet voldoende voor grotere stukken. Dan worden er lapjes gebreid, die later aan elkaar genaaid worden tot kleurige dekens voor de ziekenboeg van daklozenopvang.
