Lately several of my customers have commented that they have kind of a lot of yarn in their stash that they know they'll never really use.... I suspect that in these hard economic times over the last year or two, people have been knitting primarily from their stash of yarn, and by now, they have come to the point that they are faced with the stash stuff that they actually don't really want to work with. Maybe when they started knitting, they bought acrylic but soon became wool worshippers, or maybe they don't like lime green anymore like they did when they were 22 and just out of college, or maybe it smells. I dunno. But I do know some places where people can get rid of that unwanted stash, and know that the recipients are happy to get it.
I did a little web surfing and found some places that list charitable yarn donations on their websites.
From Halcyon's website of Charitable Organizations Links :
Project Linus
Project Linus is a non-profit organization with over 20,000 volunteers providing security blankets to seriously ill or traumatized children. These blankets are distributed at hospitals, battered women's shelters, and hospices. They are in need of yarns and/or hand-crafted blankets of any size that are washable and in child friendly colors. Since its start at the end of 1995, Project Linus has created 250 chapters, which have provided over 75,000 blankets.
National Headquarters
Project Linus
8223 S. Quebec
Unit 1
Box 121
Englewood, CO 80112
303-840-1116
Newborns in Need
Newborns in Need makes and donates handmade items, such as booties, hats, blankets, and gowns, to premature, sick, and needy babies, as well as to children in crisis situation. Donations of yarns or handmade items are gladly accepted.
National Headquarters
Newborns in Need
3323 Transou Road
Pfafftown, NC 27040
(877) 231-5097
[email protected]
Willing Hands and Germantown HELP
These groups serve a dual role - providing food relief and offering handmade blankets, gifts, and clothes. Serving the Maryland area, this group seeks donations of all sewing/knitting/crocheting supplies, such as yarn, ribbon, thread, and notions.
Germantown HELP
Debbie G. Gallo
27305 Ridge Rd
Damascus, MD 20875
Many Arms Reach You
M.A.R.Y. is a charitable organization whose goal is to providing homemade knitted or crocheted blankets for babies. Staffed solely by volunteers, there are over 90 people knitting and crocheting throughout the country. They have many volunteers and very little yarn.
M.A.R.Y.
37 Kendall Ave.
Binghampton, NY 13903
From dogood.boston.com:
Boston Living Center needs YARN--ALL KINDS!Donations Request
Boston Living Center
29 Stanhope St.
Boston, MA 02116
Do you have yarn laying around collecting dust and clogging up your living space?
Maybe you have some extra from a project you were working on, or maybe you've just collected too many skeins.
We will be happy to have your donation.
And again, from a craigslist post:
Hi the Boston Living Center located in the back bay of Boston is a community center for individuals living with HIV. www.bostonlivingcenter.org
We are looking for donations of yarn, knitting needles, and crochet hooks (any size kind or color). We are starting a program for our members to learn how to crochet & knit, as well as starting a knitting circle for volunteers to come and knit items for our members- so we are looking for donations of yarn. Any leftovers are appreciated as well, that small ball of yarn could make a nice edge on a scarf or hat, so no amount is too small.
Please contact lbro[email protected] if you have items you would like to donate.
From the Peace Fleece website:
The following is a letter we received from Warm Woolies requesting yarn donations from our Peace Fleece community. For those of you with extra yarn looking for a home, please visit their website and consider a donation.
Warm Woolies mission is to provide warm, hand-knit wool clothing to children living in extreme poverty. Their volunteers knit for children in orphanages in eastern Europe and China, and for children on tribal reservations in South Dakota. They can always use wool yarn and needles!
The IRS has recognized Warm Woolies as a 501(c)(3) so any donation of materials would be tax exempt.
Warm Woolies
5572 E. Mansfield Ave.
Denver, CO 80237
Contact: Kimberly Turnbow
1-303-639-9391
email: www.warmwoolies.org
And finally, if you live near Unique One and want to come drop off some of your old stash, believe me, I can give it to people who will put your yarn donations to good use. I get lots of requests for yarn donations, people making baby blankets, chemo caps, preemie items; schools and camps and other youth groups in the area are always looking for yarn for educational programs; churches and senior citizen centers are often looking for yarn donations for prayer shawls. Pretty much any type of yarn can be given a good home. So bust out that stash and figure out what you *really* want to keep, and give the rest a good home.