December Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You

December 23, 2009
Today’s topics:
 We delivered more than 2000 comfort scarves in time for Christmas
 Our comfort scarves mean a lot to the women who receive them
 Our list of recipients now includes 22 shelters in CA alone
 Widespread network of contributors
 The generous contributions from yarn companies and individuals continue
 All the forms, etc. for the 501(c)3 have been filed
 Looking back on 2009 and getting started on 2010

And now for the details:

We delivered at least 2000 comfort scarves in December. Honestly, I didn’t think we would be able to achieve this goal, but with all of you working so hard, we did it. Your output and dedication to reaching the goal were amazing. You really care about the women and changing their lives. It shows in the beauty of your work, your attention to detail, and your determination to get your completed scarves to me in time.

The shelters very much appreciate your hard work. I have already received several wonderful and heart-warming responses from the them. Here are a few. Shelly Ross, Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator at the South Bay branch of 1736 Family Crisis Center, wrote:

I can't thank you and your group enough for all the scarves made for us - we gave them out during our holiday store - we went through two huge boxes of them - everyone loved them. Today is our last day and have enough for today which will work out perfectly. Please send my thanks to all!

Kitty Glass, Community Outreach Coordinator at the Family Violence Project of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, wrote:

I would like to thank you all so very much for the gorgeous scarves you knit and donated to our program. They are incredibly beautiful and will be so deeply appreciated and enjoyed by our shelter residents. The clients are always overwhelmed by the “kindness of strangers.” Our women will proudly wear your scarves knowing they were knit by loving, caring, and thoughtful hands.

Getting all the scarves to all the shelters took a lot of time; I drove many miles; often I couldn’t see out of the back of my car, and apparently I didn’t learn from my experiences last month trying to locate shelters through my car’s GPS that the shelters are not findable by usual means. After one more incident of not knowing where I was and having to call the shelter for directions, I made sure to get the directions before I left. Even then, the idea that the shelters are hidden and hard to find because the women in them need to be protected comes through. One of the shelters lists only a PO box as its address so the director gave me their street address. I looked it up on Google, got the directions, but the print out listed the PO box, not the street address. Amazing!

We were very lucky that so many scarves came in. We hoped for 2000 but more than 3000 arrived. They came from all over. We received them from knitters as far away as Germany and Scotland. Because we received so many scarves, I was able to offer them to more shelters. We donated to 10 more shelters! I remember when I was worried about providing 5 shelters with scarves. Now I have 22 in CA to worry about.

As I have mentioned in prior Newsletters, chapters of Handmade Especially for You have been created across the country. These chapters are doing well, too. Gabriella Bittner, leader of the Handmade group in Naples FL was thrilled to make her goal of donating 50 scarves to her local shelter; Margie Grieve, head of Giving Hands, our Canadian offshoot, wrote the following to her group, after making her deliveries:

What an exciting time I had on Monday! I got to deliver all of your hard work to those who need it. My first stop was at Stepping Stones - who by the way was soooo excited and grateful for the bag full of goodies. They asked that I be sure to pass on their appreciation to the group.

The second one was Cicada Place. When I handed over the bag to them, such excitement!!! They thank you also.

Susan Van Winkle, leader of San Rafael Yarn Ministry, Handmade’s San Diego chapter, also wrote with great excitement about her chapter’s delivery of scarves:
Rose, one of our ladies, delivered 30 Comfort Scarves to St. Clare’s Home in Escondido. These include the 3 you made as samples, and the 4 kits you sent which all got made up. These were the inspiration for all the others, so thank you very much. We will continue to make scarves in the new year as well.

About 20 more people have inquired about starting chapters. We will work with them to do so in January. Since domestic violence occurs everywhere, in every community, in every socio-economic and religious group, chapters of Handmade Especially for You need to be everywhere. The impact of the scarves on the women who receive them has been so positive here in S. CA., we hope this experience will be repeated throughout the country.

By the beginning of December, I was really out of yarn. I had made and distributed so many kits and attended so many knitting groups that the piles and piles of yarn in my house were very, very depleted. I think readers of my November Newsletter sensed that, because yarn donations have been coming in. Crystal Palace Yarns continues to be an exceptional donor. I received one huge case from them soon after the Newsletter went out and then another today. Knitting Fever, another very loyal and committed yarn donor, sent two huge cases immediately. Trendsetter Yarns sent a big case of just the kind of decorative yarn we need to individualize each scarf. Our project wouldn’t be as successful as it is without their donations. The secret behind the positive impact of our scarves is that they are so beautiful. They are so beautiful due to the generous donations of Crystal Palace, Knitting Fever, and Trendsetter Yarns. The scarves are so beautiful also due to the excellent craftswomanship of their makers. What a combination!

I am really lucky to have so many committed friends, volunteers, knitters, crocheters, donors, and people who believe in our mission of supplying comfort scarves to abused women. As our project grows, more and more individuals have contributed to our success. Thank you all.

We accomplished a lot in 2009. We delivered at least 6000 comfort scarves to 22 shelters in CA, and more if you count our chapters in the rest of the US and Canada. For the most part, we focused on only the women victims of abuse. But there are so many children in the shelters with their mothers (on average, each woman brings 2.5 children with her to the shelter) that I think we should consider making something for the children as well. The children also undergo counseling to reverse the negative impact of abuse (abuse they personally have experienced and/or abuse they have observed) and maybe whatever we make for them will help them move on to a better life. I’d appreciate your comments on this idea.

In January, I will poll the shelters to find out how many comfort scarves each needs per month. In general, the women stay at the first shelter 30-45 days. They then move on to a transitional shelter where they stay up to 2 years, in some cases, as they acquire the skills to lead productive and independent lives. Our comfort scarves go to each woman when she enters the shelter. So the shelters need a new donation of scarves every month. In 2009, we delivered about 250 per month. With 10more shelters, I expect that number will be much bigger.

Finally, Hilary Cohen, a lawyer who attends the Knitting Club at Concepts in Yarn, has taken us under her wing. She filled out and filed the remaining papers for the 501(c)3. I am so grateful to her. We should receive the preliminary OK from the State pretty quickly, but will have to wait a little longer for Federal approval. I’ll keep you posted. Once we have the 501(c)3, we can begin fund raising, put PayPal on our website, etc. We need funds to expand our operation. I alone cannot continue to make all the kits. I need help. And that means some kind of workshop, rent, utility bills, etc. One thing leads to another. We needed to reach a certain size to make the 501(c)3 imperative. But that size makes a workspace necessary too. You know my motto: Keep that movie rolling. We’ll see what happens next.

In the meantime, if you want to donate scarves or yarn or if you want to send a check, please mail to:
Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275
Thanks in advance.
Leslye
www.handmadeespecially.org

November Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You

December 4, 2009

Today’s topics:
 1000 comfort scarves delivered in time for Thanksgiving
 The meaning of secure shelters
 Center for the Pacific Asian Family included on our list of recipients
 The work ethic and determination of our knitting/crocheting volunteers is amazing
 The generous contributions from yarn companies and individuals continue
 We have at least 1500 comfort scarves in process for Christmas

And now for the details:

We delivered 1000 comfort scarves before Thanksgiving. I am very proud of all of us who have worked so hard to achieve this goal. It was really something to deliver that many scarves. Usually I deliver 250 scarves to 12 shelters. That fills up the car. You can just imagine delivering 1000. It took 3 days and many trips, all worth it!

Making these deliveries was an eye-opening experience for me. I have theoretically understood that the women and children in the shelters have gone to them for protection and that the locations are secret to protect the women and children from their abusers. The consequence for me was that the shelters themselves were hard to find. Usually I deliver to the administrative offices, but this time it was different.

At the recommendation of Grace Whitcomb, S. CA Gas Co., we added the Center for the Pacific Asian Family to our list of recipients. I met Debra Suh, the executive director, at a Jewish Federation building on Fairfax in Los Angeles. I thought the address was odd, I was surprised at the building, but thought CPAF must be small to rent space in that location. Debra and I talked for a bit there, and then she announced that she would take me to the shelter. I followed her on a twisty curvy route to the shelter. Once we arrived, just about the first thing I had to do was sign a document promising never to reveal where the shelter was. Believe me, I didn’t know where I was, much less where the shelter was. I had to use my GPS to get to the next place.

But, my GPS wouldn’t accept the address of the next shelter. And it couldn’t find the location when I searched by name. I had to drive up and down the street until I found it, hidden behind a fence with the address barely apparent. The receptionist explained they had to keep their location secret. That was the reason the GPS couldn’t find them.

Finally, along these same lines, one of the Orange County shelters asked me to deliver to the actual shelter rather than to the office. On the phone, the director of the shelter started giving me directions, such as go South on the 405, exit at Jamboree, turn right at the next street, turn left, turn right---“Wait a minute,” I said to her. “Just give me the address and I will put it into my GPS.” “No,” she said. “I can’t do that for reasons of safety.” I did find the shelter, but it was hard to do.

Those three experiences reshaped my understanding of the meaning of these shelters. They really do provide “shelter.” You cannot find them or the people in them easily. You have to know where you are going. The people inside need protection. They are not open to the public. The women and children in the shelters are not there for a free ride; they are at the shelters because they have been hurt. They need to be kept safe. We must remember this at all times. Delivering the scarves to the shelters, as compared to the administrative offices, brought this home for me.
The visit to CPAF was an uplifting experience, as is visiting all the shelters. Originally a home for teen girls, so there are two kinds of rooms: a small room fitted with a bunk bed and single bed and a large family room that sleeps at least 6. CPAF has a policy of one family to a room. The occupants of the small rooms share a communal bathroom. Occupants of the large family rooms have their own bathroom. They have on-site counseling and job training and do a lot to help the women and families get back on their feet.

One of our most productive groups of knitters is that at Golden West Tower. The women are Chinese and Korean. I met with them the day after I went to CPAF. I thought they would like to know that we had included a shelter devoted to Asian families among our recipients. At first they were shocked that abuse even occurred in the Asian community, but we know that abuse occurs in all communities, in all racial, religious, and socio-economic groups. Then they were ashamed that abuse occurs in their community. But I reminded them that they personally are working hard to help prevent more abuse by making comfort scarves. Finally, they told me they want to make comfort scarves for all groups, not just Asian, even though they are Asian. I assured them that we select the scarves for delivery to the shelters from big boxes and we never know who made them since the name tags are tucked inside. Our only criteria for selecting scarves is that every scarf be different from all the other scarves in the group so the recipients feel they are receiving a truly personal gift. I was impressed at the generosity of spirit, hard work ethic, and determination of the knitters. They will make comfort scarves for any woman who needs one.

All our participants share that hard work ethic and sense of determination to reach the goal. Wherever I go, they ask how close we are to making the 2000 for Christmas delivery. That is a huge goal, and I really didn’t know if we would make it or not, but it looks like we will. The woman in our local knitting groups are doing everything they can to make sure we will; the women who found out about our project on the internet also are doing everything they can to make sure we reach the 2000 goal. Every day more packages show up on my doorstep. Many are not packages from women to whom I have sent free yarn but from those who use their own yarn. We are part of a huge network of great-hearted women who not only want to help others, but actually help others by giving so generously of their time. Applause and thanks to all of you.

Yarn companies continue their generosity. This means a lot because I am making and sending out so many kits that I am going through miles of yarn every day. Crystal Palace Yarns continues to be an exceptional donor. Just when I was running out of yarn, another box arrived from them filled with just what I needed to continue making kits. Coats & Clark also sent a box filled with a variety of their products. I went through that box in a day—not because it was small, but because I was making so many kits. In fact, I made so many kits in October and November that my yarn-winding arm is actually tired. It was a race as to what would wear out first—my arm or the ball winder. I think it was a tie. Luckily, again, June Grossberg, owner of Concepts in Yarn and our biggest sponsor, lent me a ball winder so I could continue making kits. And an anonymous donor contributed money for me to buy another group of kit making tools (swift, yarn meter, and ball winder) so she can help me make kits next year. I am really lucky to have so many committed friends, volunteers, knitters, crocheters, donors, and people who believe in our mission of supplying comfort scarves to abused women. Thank you all.

We will continue collecting scarves for Christmas delivery until Dec. 11. We have about 1500 counted scarves now and plenty more uncounted and still in their boxes so I’m sure that we will have 2000 by the 11th. We will need a little time to prepare them for delivery, tie them with ribbons, etc. After that, all the scarves that come in will go toward January deliveries. As you may know, there is so much abuse over the holidays, the shelters all are jam packed in January. Incredible, isn’t it.
If you want to donate scarves or yarn or if you want to send a check, please mail to:

Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275

Thanks in advance.
Leslye
www.handmadeespecially.org

A most amazing thing

I have knitted and crocheted some time for charities and recently saw a clipping in my church bulletin reminding people of the "Homeless Christmas Party" that is held every year. It was to be a few months off so felt led to create an opportunity for any hidden crafter's to put their hands to work and created "No idle hands" to make hats, scarves, mittens and etc. to add to the all ready collected items. I hadn't gotten much response and was a bit discouraged when a lady called me yesterday and here is the story she shared with me:


I have always had a heart for the homeless and would often pray for them. I was getting a little angry with God because he didn't seem to answer my prayers asking him to help them, when one day, he answered me. He said...I made you. She went to the store and saw a loom and thought she could maybe learn to do that as she didn't knit or crochet. She was able to learn and began making hats. She was not sure where she would give them to or how she would get them to the homeless when her daughter who attends my church brought her the little notice of "No Idle Hands".............


Here is what she brought to me

100 beautiful adult hats and 50 baby hats from one amazing heart!

If you want to view my donations click here

October Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You

November 1, 2009
Today’s topics:
 1000 comfort scarves are wrapped and ready for delivery for Thanksgiving
 Making 2000 scarves for Christmas will be a lot of work by all of us. We can do it!
 Talking Crochet Newsletter (Oct. 27, 2009) featured Handmade Especially for You
 The generous contributions from yarn companies and individuals continue
 We now have 6 chapters throughout North America and have many more shelters receiving our comfort scarves
 Pros and cons of keyhole scarves
And now for the details:
In addition to our October delivery of 250 comfort scarves, we now have 1000 scarves wrapped and ready for delivery before Thanksgiving. I am very proud of all of us who have worked so hard to achieve this goal. Honestly, as much as I hoped for such a result, I thought it might be too big to complete. But we’ve done it. Now on to achieving the next goal -- 2000 comfort scarves for Christmas. It looks like we have a real chance to make that goal as well. Read on.

Talking Crochet Newsletter ran a feature story about us October 27, 2009. The response was incredible. I was at Disneyland with my daughter and granddaughters when the story ran. When I returned and checked my email, I was truly overwhelmed. There were hundreds of letters. Some were from people who wanted to participate; some from those who want to start their own chapters; some to generally support our movement; and some from women who had been abused themselves and wanted to tell how important they think our comfort scarves are to those who receive them. You can view the article at: http://www.crochet-world.com/newsletters.php. I have been busy making and sending kits ever since it appeared.

Yarn companies continue their generosity. This means a lot because I am making and sending out so many kits that I am going through miles of yarn every day. Knitting Fever and Crystal Palace Yarns continue to be exceptional donors. Their yarn meets all our requirements--soft, colorful, beautiful, including solid colors and lots of ribbon yarns and fun fur we use to decorate our scarves! Mountain Colors sent another box of their beautiful hand dyed wool. Many of you greet me with bags of yarn. I appreciate all contributions. And I use everything as I’m sure you’ve seen if you use my kits.
Community support is growing as well. On Oct. 18 Wabi-Sabi Knits held a community knit-in in Playa del Rey to support us. That was a first. They have a big bin right now half-full of comfort scarves. They expect it to be filled by Nov. 13, when I will do my first pick up there.

I knit with a group of seniors at Golden West Tower in Torrance. The group is small, but very productive. They have a lot of fun. One of the women encouraged her daughter (a young woman my age) to join us. The two of them talked up the project so much in their family that now the daughter’s daughter has organized a group of her co-workers to make comfort scarves. They are the first (that I know of) 3-generation family to participate.

A woman in IL requested 12 kits for girls she is teaching to knit. She just wrote telling me the girls want to donate their scarves to the Constance Morris House in La Grange. People everywhere are joining our movement.

As a result of our new chapters, we now have several new shelters to add to our list of recipients. The group in Rogers, AR delivers to the Women’s Shelter of NorthWest Arkansas; the San Diego chapter donates to Saint Clare’s Home; in Naples, FL they contribute to the Naples Shelter for Abused Women and Children; Giving Hands, our chapter in Nelson, BC so far gives to Cicada Place for Youth and the Aimee Beaulieu Transition House. Marge has even bigger plans for her chapter.

Finally, in order to reach the seemingly impossible goal of making and delivering 2000 comfort scarves before Christmas THIS YEAR, I have suggested we start making keyhole scarves. They are about half the size of our regular scarves. Thus, they make up very quickly. And it is much easier for me to make the kits. For a variety of reasons, some of our participants feel this is too great a shortcut and that the recipients need the full size scarf. I feel our mission is to recognize and acknowledge victims of domestic violence. I feel receiving a keyhole scarf is better than receiving no scarf. I understand the point made by those who disagree. So I suggest that if you want to make a full size scarf, please do. I am still making kits for full size scarves. But if you are willing to make the keyhole scarf, also please do. Happily, the knit and crochet versions use the same amount of yarn (the crochet has fewer stitches) so I can make the same kit for both and you can do either. Please check the website for the patterns I recommend (on size 15 needles or K hook, of course). Whichever scarf you choose to do, I will appreciate receiving it. We reach our goal one scarf at a time. Your scarf counts!
If you want to donate scarves or yarn or if you want to send a check, please mail to:
Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275
Leslye
www.handmadeespecially.org

EGF DONATION

THIS LITTLE BEREVEMENT SET WILL GO TO EGF. IT FITS A 1-3 POUND PREEMIE. I FOUND THIS LITTLE DOLL AT A YARD SALE THIS YEAR, IT HELPS ME TO KNOW IF THE THINGS I MAKE WILL FIT OR NOT.

Great publicity for Handmade Especially for You

This article appeared in the Oct. 27, 2009 issue of Talking Crochet Newsletter

Handmade Especially for You
Leslye Borden has taken her passion for knitting and crocheting beyond her own personal use by creating an organization that brings a bit of joy to abused women. Handmade Especially for You distributes special scarves to women and children in shelters. Presently, there is a request to the organization for 1,000 scarves for Thanksgiving baskets and another 2,000 for Christmas baskets. A handmade gift can be a small step toward building self-esteem that is so necessary during the healing process for women who have been abused.


Leslye Borden brings a soft touch to women who need it. Photo by Tom Underhill

Leslye's hints for creating scarves are:

1.Use soft yarn (for comfort).
2.Pick happy colors.
3.Make them four to five inches wide.
4.Make them at least 60 inches long.
5.Use open-weave stitch if possible (so they can be used in warm weather climates).
6.Add some novelty yarn or ribbon to make them special.
The intention of making these scarves is to provide a gift of comfort to someone who may have never received a gift before and to show that someone cares.

You can read more about Leslye Borden and the story of Handmade Especially for You online at HandMadeEspecially.org. Her Web site also gives information about starting a local chapter. If you would like to mail scarves directly to her, please send to:



Leslye Borden
Handmade Especially for You
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
90275

Sept Newsletter from Handmade Especially for You

October 3, 2009
Today’s topics:
 We distributed more than 2,150 comfort scarves so far this year; 2,350 since we began
 I connected with many knitters/crocheters on Ravelry
 The generous contributions from yarn companies are key to our growth and success
 We applied for the 501(c)3
 We have 600 scarves already made for Thanksgiving and Christmas distribution

And now for the details:

We distributed about 250 scarves again this month! The shelters’ directors are running out of new ways to describe their appreciation for what we do. They apologize for just saying the same things over and over. We love their thanks and want to keep that repetition going. Congratulations to all of you who knit, crochet, wrap, and donate $$$. You are making our project successful!!!

Somehow I figured out how to navigate ravelry.com. Ravely is an interactive website for people who love to knit and crochet. Many groups post activities on the Ravelry site and members sign up for the groups that interest them. They even have a charity knitting group that has over 2,000 members! This group has been very supportive of our cause. Many members have promised to send scarves to help us meet our end of year goals. Many others have requested scarf kits so they can make scarves. I have received so many requests for kits that making them is more than what I can do immediately. I had post a message asking for everyone’s patience. In the meantime, I am glad to report that the yarn meter and my shoulder are holding up just fine.

Another tremendous result of making friends on Ravelry is that several people contacted me asking to set up chapters of Handmade Especially for You in their own neighborhoods. I think that is a very good idea since domestic violence occurs everywhere and people in Naples, FL, for instance, might as well donate their scarves to a local shelter for abused women rather than sending them to me for distribution here in S. CA. Of course, not all of you who make scarves want to start your own chapter and I am HAPPY to receive your scarves. In addition to the Naples, FL chapter, chapters are starting in San Diego CA, Rogers AK and British Columbia. People in St. Louis and St. Paul have made inquiries. Here’s hoping they organize too. Last month I reported that Handmade was becoming more than a group of well intentioned women; that we are a movement. Little did I know how quickly the explosion would occur.
One of my new Ravelry friends wrote me: “I was one of those kids who showed up at a shelter with her mom looking for a safe place. It was full but they paid for a night at a motel for us. The next day, my mom caved and went back. I ended up in youth shelters and foster homes when I gave up on mom ever leaving him. . . . . . I would be happy to make some scarves for your wonderful project!” In another note, she finished her story saying that she and her mom “broke the cycle together.” Please remember, every scarf we give to an abused woman helps her break the cycle. Give yourself a pat on the back for what you are doing.

Yarn companies continue their generosity. This means a lot because I am making and sending out so many kits that I am going through lots of yarn. Crystal Palace Yarns has been an exceptional donor. Susan Druling sent us another enormous case of yarn containing lots of different yarns just perfect for our scarves. I’m sure you have been seeing their yarn in our recent kits. Their yarn meets all our requirements--soft, colorful, beautiful, and lots of ribbon yarns and fun fur we use to decorate our scarves! Sweaterkits and Mission Falls promised donations to the Naples chapter. Many of you just can’t see me without handing me a bag of yarn. Every little bit counts. I feel I can never have too much yarn, although my husband may not agree. Yarn is everywhere in our house.

My husband helped me apply for the 501(c)3. As soon as our corporate status is confirmed, I can apply for the tax-exempt status and then the good times will begin. Handmade needs a workshop (so several people can make scarf kits) as well as storage space. Once we receive the official non-profit designation, we will be able to request and accept donations from large corporations. Some of them may even have space they can donate. You know my motto: Keep that movie rolling. Let’s watch and see what happens.

We have just over 600 scarves set aside for distribution in November and December. Our current 11 S. CA shelters have requested 1000 scarves to include in their Thanksgiving baskets and another 2000 for Christmas. 600 is a start, but a long way to go to reach those goals. We can’t rest on our laurels. We need to keep knitting and crocheting. Of course, I don’t know what will show up on my doorstep in the coming weeks. I hope a lot. I thank you all in advance for your contributions yet to come.
If you want to donate scarves or yarn or if you want to send a check, please mail to:
Handmade Especially for You c/o Leslye Borden
30065 Grandpoint Lane
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275
Leslye
www.handmadeespecially.org