Friday, June 20, 2008

Craft-y People are Giving People

I’m not sure why, but it seems to me that some of the most giving people I’ve ever met are people who do handcrafts. Sure, many of us try to sell our projects or our patterns or designs. But many also just give them away. We give them as gifts, and for charities, and for the homeless.

It has nothing to do with the internet, although the internet has made it easier to find and link up with just causes. Way back when I was little, I watched my mother knit rolls of bandages for the soldiers in WWII. The family friend who lives here with me shared her memories of her mother doing the same thing. They knitted socks for “the boys,” too. It wasn’t just for the war effort. their charity extended to any causes that they heard of, any cause that seemed to need their help.

In today’s world, a simple search will turn up more charities and causes that need our skills than we could satisfy in our lifetimes. We can either concentrate on one cause, or choose a different organization a week, or a different one each month. We can pick anything from the homeless, preemies, elderly in nursing homes, to cancer victims, disaster aid, military, and more. There are sites that list nothing but sites that ask for our handcrafted help.

Please, Dear God, guide me to the places who need my skilled hands the most.

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