Hugs - So many places to help

Elm Street Quilts is not directly affiliated with any of the organization featured in this series.  With this post and others, my goal is to raise awareness of organizations that collect and distribute handmade items to people in need.  

The objective of Elm Street Quilts Hugs is to encourage the giving of handmade to someone who needs extra support.  This could be a family member or friend or perhaps to someone in your community.  I'd like to turn February into a month of giving handmade hug. #handmadehug #ESQHugs.   

I'd encourage anyone to write a blog post or Instagram or Facebook on an organization or your handmade giving.  Link it back with the social tags #handmadehug #ESQHugs, in the blog comments or ESQ Facebook so we can all learn about opportunities to make a difference.

Throughout the month, I wrote about several organizations that are working very hard to get quilts and handmade items to those who need a hug.

• 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge
• Project Linus
• Quilts of Compassion
• Sewing Miles of Smiles
• Little Dresses for Africa
• Hugs for a friend in need
• Charity through your local guild

There are so many more organizations that I didn't write about - two of which I did want to cover in this post



Quilt for Kids accepts quilt donations.  Quilt for Kids has been going strong for 14 years and sets a goal of donating 30,000 quilts to kids every year.  There are a lot of chapters across the US - check here to find one near you.

 Their FAQ page contains helpful information on where to ship finish quilts.  They also supply quilt kits for free - you just cover the shipping charge of a modest $6.  QFK also has a pattern page in support of their kits.


Veteran organizations are important to consider for your handmade.  Quilts of Valor is the one you may have heard about.  Their mission statement - "The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor." is a wonderful one.   Making a quilt for a service person is a wonderful way to say thank you for their service.

There are Quilts of Valor organizations in both the US and Canada.  Lesley from The Cuddle Quilter had a couple of recent posts (here and here) on her involvement with the Canadian branch of Quilts of Valor.  (Check out the second one to capture her featured in a bit on the local news station.)

Some other resources and perspectives that you might find helpful in your own journey on giving handmade:

Warren although I call him Beau

• Sew Mama Sew has a monthly series about Sew Good - focusing on people who dedicate time to sewing for others.  A recent post featured  Alison Robins ( Little Island Quilts) and the quilts donated to an orphanage in Mexico city.This post on Sew Mama Sew makes a great read to both understand why Alison is focused on this group but it also captures the essence of what many of us feel.  Namely, you know there so many people in need out there and you want to help.  How best to do so is the question.

• Wendi from Shiny Happy World wrote a great post about giving handmade.  I found it extremely helpful as I started my journey.   I made my own version of Warren, her free charity bear pattern.   Haven't yet found a home for him but I know I will.  And once I do, I've got more fleece and will make him some friends.

• Abby from While She Naps shared her insights on giving handmade to charity in this post.   She discusses truly understanding what is needed and will be used as well as considering financial donations. 

• This post on Handcrafting With Love had some great thoughts and tips.

I'll be back tomorrow with one more post on Hugs to wrap things up with my reflections after authoring the Hugs series of posts.

Have a wonderful day! Patty