End of the Year 2011 Final Tallies

WOW!
You all did it. A while back, as I was watching our numbers grow I dreamed/wondered and hoped we might hit 500 scarves...and LOOK, 502. And, I wondered if we might hit 1,000 hats, and LOOK, we did 1,008.

Everyone involved deserves a big Thank You, and a HUGE pat on the back.

I am truly thrilled at this years accomplishments. We've increased our helping hands, giving us the ability to reach more people in need. We've added 2 family shelters to the list of those we've helped in the past. We've added a couple of grade schools to that list, we reached beyond our county borders to help those in Vinton County as well. All wonderful accomplishments that couldn't have been achieved without the continued love and support and skillful hands of you all.
If you missed the impressive list of those who donated in the year 2011...it's HERE. Please take a look, and if I missed anyone...do sing out. Going back through a whole year of blog posts to compile the list, it's possible I inadvertently missed someone.

We had a nice article written about the cause and the blog in Crochet Magazine this year too. If you didn't get a chance to read that...check the side bar and try finding a copy at your newsstand and or library.

2011 Donations:

Scarves 502
Hats 1,008
Mittens 239
Socks 374
Squares 941
Rain Ponchos 222
Cotton Washcloths 424
Sweaters/Poncho's 11
Slippers 134
Afghans 56 (2 sent to our friends at Pine Street)
Misc Items I've not counted misc items like all the personal care items, the neck warmers, head bands, shawl, hot packs, or yarn etc.

Look how far we've come folks!
2008-2009 Donations
Hats 368
Mittens 66
Scarves 147
Socks 79 pair*counts from day 1, Dec 2 2008

2010 Donations
Scarves 340
Hats 592
Mittens 151
Socks 101
Slippers 34
Ghans 10
Squares 238

To date, we've knitted/crocheted and donated a total of 1,968 hats to warm men, women and children, in need. We've knitted and crocheted a total of 989 scarves and 456 mittens; again for men, women, and children.

Some of you have been with us from the start, some who were with us in the start no longer are, and some of you are recent helpers. I value you all and truly THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart. Please know you've made a very important difference to a great many people. Please keep up the good work. I hope we can continue at this level and grow even more. Please help us grow more by telling people what you do. Everyone knows someone who knits or crochets, who wants to help others, who blogs, who tweets, who facebooks, etc.

Goals for year 2012 (I'm dreaming big)
Grow our numbers of helping hands
Grow our numbers of items donated
Grow by reaching other groups who need our help
Grow from 184 followers to 250? (ask your friends if they blog, ask them to follow us)
Improve our google page rank from it's current 3 to 4 or more. (we grew from 2 to 3 in July)
Improve our Alexa rank (remember that number needs to go down to be better). In July when it was added to the page our rank was 6,123,422 and this morning when I started writing this scheduled post (Jan 5th), it was 3,885,629.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated, and all donations keep someone warm. We help, one stitch at a time. YOU truly DO make a difference. THANK YOU!