Hats, Scarves and More to Aid the Homeless

Thank you Sue S for this thoughtful and generous donations of knitted goodies.  Sue has knitted the famous corner to corner grandma's favorite cotton washcloths, hats, and scarves.  She included socks and personal care items, and a pair of gloves.  Something for everyone.

The hats are nicely tagged with size and great colors.

Many thanks for your support over the years.

PLEASE keep checking in, as I will continue to show donations coming in, and provide listings of charities you might like to support after operations cease here on Bridge and Beyond come Dec .31.  Please remember the last date to mail donations is the 24th of Dec.

Some of the charities aid the homeless, some pregnant women, some kids transitioning out of foster care, and native Americans on Pine Ridge Reservation.  Locations vary, so you might find one of the charities listed is in your area, or close to you like a border state; making postage perhaps less costly.

Below is the listing with a very brief description, but PLEASE click on the links to see details about what they accept, what fiber to use, who benefits from the charity and where to mail items.

Afghans for Pine Ridge (Ravelry Group completed Afghans with options for 6-8- and 12 inch squares)

Red Scarf Project (benefits kids transitioning out of foster care

Warm Up American (Benefits homeless and others in need, rectangles, hats and scarves, or make your own full afghan).

StreetKnit (Benefits homeless in Oklahoma, accepts afghans, lapghans, hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, socks (not store bought); as well as yarn and knitting needles.

Homeless Families Foundation and Faith Mission (benefits homeless for those that are local and can deliver donations in Columbus, Ohio.

Salvation Knitters (Ravelry Group)(benefits two charities in Lansing Michigan, that focus on pregnant mothers and their babies, getting them off the streets.)

Welcome Blankets, Lapghans for Refugees (knitted, crocheted, sewn and or quilted)

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Personal Care and Post Office Troubles, And ...

A small collection of personal care items collected on a recent short out of town with hubby.  It was on this trip to Hilton Head, SC a week or so back that I discovered all the problems now associated with doing a mail hold.  It's never been an issue before; but ..........our post office has closed which presented a whole host of problems that never existed before.

1. When your post office closes you can not qualify for a mail hold set up on line, even when signed  into your account.
2. You can not qualify for automated telephone mail hold
3. When you get a live human being, they can not do a mail hold for you
4. You must go in person, stand in line, and fill out a mail hold card (which they may or may not loose)
5. Once back in town you return to the post office nearest you, the one where you filled out the mail hold document and are told you can not pick up your mail there, you must go to the main office.
6. The following day arriving at the main post office after difficulty with finding a parking spot and it takes 3 people to find your mail.  But, hey I lucked out the lady in front of me had been back 3 times and no one could find her mail, nor her mail hold card.

Yes this is one of the reasons I've decided it's time to put an end date to this grassroots charity, Bridge and Beyond.  So, after 13 years Bridge and Beyond's last date will be Dec 31st of this year, 2021.

Hubby and I travel a good bit, and will be increasing time away as he nears retirement.  With mail issues (significant mail delays), and reduced time you can do a mail hold, and above stated problems........it seems the writing was on the wall.  Thus, I have made this decision after considerable thought.

Dec 2, 2008 I wrote my first blog post here on Bridge and Beyond where I asked a group of blog friends if they wanted to help.  It started out quite small.  We were going to help a group of folks living in the elements that a friend, Rae prepared hot meals for on Sat mornings.  Mostly men at the time, a few woman and no children.

In one weeks time, I started receiving emails asking for my address on Dec 8th, and on Dec 9, 2008 I received my first donation from Bunny.  Bunny was an avid supporter of Bridge and Beyond in the early years.  Some of you may remember her.  She moved onto supporting other charities from my memory; but it's a nice memory to remember she was the first donator to this charity, Bridge and Beyond.

I'll will continue to accept donations, and blog about them as the year continues.  AND, I will continue to share some history and memories of how we came to be and how we grew.  Please stay tuned.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Personal Care Gift Packages Help Homeless.

Thank you Tara B for this thoughtful donation.  Sorry the picture doesn't show up real well.  We were without electricity when I was processing a group of donations.  As you can see, there was some light coming in from the window, but it's not the best.  Please click to enlarge the photo, so you can see details.  In the lower left corner you'll see a soap box with soap in it, a couple of hygiene wipes (the pink packet), and 2 crocheted cotton washcloths...(hard to see as they're tan about the same color as my carpet).  This was all packaged together in a zip lock bag.  Notice all the packages on the fall right, and to the left of the scarf....I opened one package so you could see the contents and I could get a proper count.  What a cleaver way to package these needed personal items, Tara B!

Tara has also included toothbrushes, towards the top left in the picture and 2 crocheted scarves and hats.

This lovely donation will help many people in need.  The packages of personal care items really are like a gift package...very nice indeed.  AND with this donation, look where we are for our goal for cotton washcloths!  Seriously, one away.

***If you didn't read yesterday post, PLEASE DO!  Just scroll back for an important announcement was made yesterday.***

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting Helps the Homeless

Thank you Laura E!  Laura has been busy with her knitting needles, as you can see.  She's knitted hats, a scarf, cotton clothes.  She's has also included socks and personal care items.

Please click to enlarge the pictures to see this wonderful donation.  

Laura has been a long time supporter of our homeless here in central Ohio through Bridge and Beyond.  Her cotton clothes are the always popular corner to corner style...often known as Grandma's favorite.

Laura always includes a nice mix of personal care items: tooth paste, razors, hand wipes.  

As always Laura please known how much generosity helps those in need.

****Folks, please hold mailing your wonderful donations during February of next year 2022.  Please plan on mailing before February of after February.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Thank you AnneMarie D from New York for this awesome donation.   I think there will be lots of happy feet in the near future.  Seriously, look at this...48 pairs of socks!  How nice is that!  AND look at all the wonderful hats, lots of different sizes, something to fit every head size.  A couple of different hat styles.  Please click to enlarge the picture so you can see what I'm talking about.  AND, every hat is nicely tagged with the size.   Lots of ice darker colors...PERFECT!

AND look at these cute soap pouches!  Aside from being colorful, what a clever idea.  If you can't read the card that is attached, it's S.A.C.K.  soapsack.com The card says each sack is made by a volunteer and comes with soap.  You can use the sack as a washcloth.  It's tell them it's made from cotton and is therefore oft.    I think this would make for a cute gift idea as well, though it's intent is to aid those in shelters.  She's also included crocheted cotton washcloths.

The webpage has patterns for both knitting or crocheting the sacks for the soap.

Many thanks AnneMarie for this thoughtful and generous donation.  Please keep up the good work.

**Folks I'm counting the sacks/pouches as a washcloth so these 20 sacks and the 6 cloths are being counting as 26**

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Donation from Florida Aids Ohio's Homeless

This is the continuation of our good Friend, Sandra R from Florida's donation.  If you missed the afghans, please scroll to the previous post.  You can see Sandra has been very very busy with her crochet hook, and knitting needles.  She's crocheted 3 scarves, 8 super soft and warm knitted hats, and knitted cotton washcloths (see both pictures).  She's included personal care items in her donation and a carry tote to aid the homeless containing their goods.

The cotton washcloths are knitted in the always popular granny's favorite design, knitted corner to corner, and they are colors that work well for men or women.  Well done, Sandra.

I've found a work around for the problem of not being able to edit the graphs.  It's a bit cumbersome, but at least I can get our counts.  If the problem continues, I may have to nix it and go back to the old way of typing it in the side bar.  Fingers crossed that's it's just a temporary gliche.  Will keep you posted on that.  AND speaking of that, take a look at the graph for scarves...with this donation, we've just inched over the 50% mark!  Awesome folks!!

As always Sandra, please keep up the good work and know it really matters to many.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Generous Donations From Florida, Help Homeless

Thank you Laura E for your wonderful donations.  I've been behind so am posting Laura E last 2 donations together.  As you can see, she has been very busy.  The above picture is actually her 2nd donation, and despite my posting  the other picture first...so they would be in order, blogger apparently had other ideas, lol.  No matter in this picture you can see her generous donation of knitted hats, cotton washcloths, and scarves.  And lot and lots of good personal care items: Wipes, toothbrushes, soap, toothpaste, razors, deodorant...and band aides.  W hat a great idea Laura E.  She's also included socks.

And this picture is actually her first donation which has socks, knitted hats, scarves, and cotton washcloths.  In both pictures you can see how she nicely tags her hats with size.  Many thanks for doing that.  It truly saves the volunteers so much time and helps get the item to the right people quicker.

As always Laura, many thanks for all you do.  Please know what an important difference you've made in the lives of many in need.  Keep up the good work.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting and Donating to the Homeless

Thank you Laura E for your continued support of Bridge and Beyond.  Laura is constantly working on donations for us.  She knits and fills and box and ships, and then she starts the process all over again.  Scroll back just a few posts and you'll see her other very recent donation.  Always busy working for us, many many thanks!!

Laura has included personal care items, socks, hats and scarves (see some are sets and tied together), and cotton washcloths.   Extra thanks for tagging your hats with size, Laura.  It really saves time for the volunteers at the shelters.

I love the pretty turquoise cotton cloths.  So fresh and springy looking and we need some of that.  It's been a long year for all of us, so having spring, colors, flowers etc help brighten us all.

As always, please keep up the good work, Laura and know what a difference you make in the lives of many in need. 

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting Helps The Homeless

Thank you Laura E for this thoughtful donation of knitted goodies.  Laura has been busy knitting hats, and scarves (see how she's linked them together to make a nice gift set), and cotton washcloths.  She's also included personal care items and socks!

Truly something for everyone with this donation.  Many thanks for tagging the hats with size, it helps the volunteers at the shelters get items to the right people quicker.

As always, remember you can enlarge the picture to see details, colors, texture by clicking on the pictures on this blog, Bridge and Beyond.

Many thanks Laura for your on going support of Ohio's homeless here on Bridge and Beyond and please keep up the good work.  

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting And More Help Homeless

Thank you Laura E for this wonderful donation.  As you can see, Laura has been very busy with her knitting needles and yarn.  She's included the corner to corner cotton washcloths (granny's favorite), hats,  and scarves.  Click to enlarge as you'll see the set on the far right matching hat and scarf nicely tied together...makes for such a nice gift.  She's also included person care items (toothpaste, toothbrush, and soap).

AND, she's included 9 pairs of warm socks!  Drum roll here, as her 9 pair of socks now puts us over our goal for the year.  Take a look at our graph.  Thrilled to reach and exceed the goal so early in the year; as last year we were pretty light which is why our goal was lower.  So..........let's keep this going.  No need to stop sending socks just because we reached that goal.  Thanks to everyone that helped make this happen.

Many thanks Laura E for your on going support of Bridge and Beytond and Ohio's Homeless and those in need.  You've made a difference, an important one.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Grandma and Granddaughter Team Up to aid the Homeless

Thank you Janis F for this thoughtful donation of crocheted goodies.  Janet has hats of varying sizes here to fit a variety of head sizes, AND she's added nice size tags which helps everyone.  Helps those at the shelters get items to the right people and helps those receiving them get them easier and quicker.  She's included personal items, a package of those combo glove/mittens, and socks, and a totebag which will be handy for folks trying to keep their few things together ...whether they are living in the elements, or spending nights at a shelter.

I want to also thank Janis's granddaughter who's in the 10th grade.  Her granddaughter helps her with washing, and tagging some of the crocheted items, and uses her own money to purchase some of the personal care items.  Love seeing kids/teens get involved with helping others.  Well done, and what a nice team effort.  

As always, please click the picture to enlarge it so you can see the details.  I really like the textured stitches Janis used in her hats and it's nice to have a color variety as well.

Many thanks Janis and granddaughter, please keep up the good work and know you've made an important difference in the lives of those less fortunate. 

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Potpourri of Sorts for The Homeless

While Potpourri really applies to flowers, petals ..a mix thereof, it was the first word that came to mind when I looked at this generous donation of LOTS of different things.  PLEASE, click so you can see everything.

Our friend Laura E has been busy both shopping and with yarn.  She has knitted, cotton washcloths, hats, and scarves.  Also please note how she's tagged everything with size.....AND nicely tied the sets of matching hats and scarves.  Putting them together makes a nice gift set, I think.......don't you?

 She has shopped and included a huge variety of personal care items: toothbrushes, toothpaste, toothbrush holders, soap, razors, wipes, brandades, and female sanitation products.  Really an awesome variety.

AND Socks.  Nothing worse in my opinion than cold wet feet.  And wet feet happen all year long, be it rain in the summer, or freezing rain, sleet and or snow in the winter.  So having socks......clean, dry socks to change into can be a huge improvement in the individuals living circumstance, be they someone living in the elements or someone getting nights here and there in a shelter.

Many thanks Laura, please keep up the good work and know what a difference...an important difference you have made.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Personal Care Items to Aid Those in Need

Spent some time out of town recently and collected some personal care items and coffee.  We stayed in a condo so we could cook our own meals and stay socially distant.  Hubby's been working from home since last March due to the Covid, so we figured he could do the same out of town.  I knitted, walked, and did yoga...the same thing I do at home; except I was able to add riding a bike part of the time, as it was warmer there then here in Central Ohio.  Hubby was able to play golf there as well.  We buy our own groceries, which is how I end up with the coffee.  I always pass on the coffee pouches to Rae, our friend who prepares the hot meals for those living in the elements.  

The personal care items are soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, and lotion.  I don't usually end up with that much from our winter trip, but we were gone a bit longer than normal.  So, the stash is larger than normal.  

Was good to get away awhile, at least a change of scenery even if it was like being home and staying away from people.  Hubby and I both got our first vaccination yesterday which was a relief.  Hope you all are getting yours, if you haven't yet.  I know the protocol is anything but consistent around the country, so don't know if you all are ahead or behind me in the que to get inoculated.

Bitter cold here today, was 4 this am when I got up.  We've had more snow this winter than we've had in the last few years.  Don't know about you all, but I am counting down the days until Spring....31.  As cold and tired of the cold as I am, I can't imagine how our homeless friends are faring.  Thank goodness many have been housed due to the Covid.

Something to remind us of Spring and warmer temps!  Keep your hooks and needles busy folks, the need continues.

*The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitted Warmth Aids Ohio's Homeless

Thank you Laura E for this generous donation of knitted goodies.  As you can see our friend Laura E has been very busy.  She's knitted the always popular corner to corner cotton washcloth, the pattern most of know as Grandma's favorite.

She's included lots of person care items and socks, as well as Hats galore, plus scarves.  Please click to enlarge the picture so you can see the details.  Her personal care items include wipes, female products, soap, razors, and packages of band aides.  Great idea!

The hats have some interesting details so, please do check them out.  Special thanks too Laura for adding the size tags to all your hats.  Also, please notice how she's tied the matching scarves and hats together, what a nice touch.  As you read this post, I venture to say somewhere someone is wearing your hats and being warmer; as I have already delivered these items.

Many thanks Laura, and please keep up the good work.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Matching Hat and Scarf Sets Warm Ohio's Homeless

Thank you Lisa N. for this thoughtful donation.  Lisa has been busy knitting up these lovely hat and scarf sets.  I love how she's packaged them.  Please click to enlarge the picture so you can see what I mean.  They're tied together nicely and have the size tag included.  Very nice!  I think it makes them look like a gift set don't you!

She's also included some personal care items and an extra hat.  

Our weather has indeed turned.  We've had nights below freezing, and a fair amount of rain.  Got a short reprieve, but I fear that too is now over.  So these nice warm knitted goodies are truly needed.

Many thanks and please keep up the good work.  In these difficult times it's even more important to do what we can for those less fortunate.  

I hope you're all staying safe from The Covid.  As we all move to more indoor activities, keep your hooks and needles busy folks. 

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting and More for the Homeless

Thank you Laura E for this thoughtful donation of goodies for our homeless friends.  Laura has been busy knitting cotton washcloths, hats, and scarves.  Please click to see details.  She has paired a couple of the hats with scarves and tied together to make a nice gift set.  

She has a wonderful array of personal care items from toothpaste, and toothbrushes, to soap, band aides and more.  Band aides such a good idea.  She's also included female sanitary products and wipes.  Very nice selection of needed items.

And with the cold damp weather socks are such a plus.  She's included socks for both men and women.  Many thanks for your generous donation.

As always, please keep up the good work.  AND ...if you clicked to enlarge picture, did you notice the ray of sunshine?  We've not seen much of that lately, so am giving Laura credit for boxing some of that up along with her donation, lol.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Tote Bags and More for the Homeless

Thank you Nikki S for this awesome donation.  Nikki has included 6 scarves, lots of good personal care items, and tote bags in her donation.  The tote bags are a great idea!  Folks living day to day, in a shelter or out in the elements need means of keeping their stuff together.  

Special thanks too for the delivery, right to my door; much appreciated.  

As always, please click the picture to enlarge to see details.  I'm particularly fond of the scarf at the bottom of picture, love that color combination.  AND the scarf above the tan tote, where you see the V's in 2 colors........what stitch is that, not familiar with it.

Many thanks Nikki for your on going support of Bridge and Beyond, it's always appreciated.  Please keep up the good work.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Socks, Cotton Wash Cloths and More for our Homeless Friends

Thank you Sue S, for this awesome donation to help Ohio's homeless.  Sue has knitted the always popular corner to corner cotton washcloth, Grandma's favorite.  As you probably know, these popular cotton cloths have several purposes.  When a person lives in the elements and get's a night in a shelter and get's a hot shower, these are far softer on their skin.  Living out in the elements can be very hard on your skin.  When someone/family leaves shelter living for a permanent housing situation, they're given a welcome home pack and these cotton cloths often make their way into those packs.  They can be used in the shower and or in the kitchen.

Sue has included a nice variety of personal care items.  One thing imparticular I wanted to point out (please click to enlarge the picture, so you can what I'm referring to), those 2 blue packs...they're small first aid packs with Band-Aids wipes.  What a great idea.  

Sue has included some super warm heavy duty socks that will truly be needed as the weather continues to cool off.  She's also knitted a scarf.

Many thanks Sue S for your long time support of Bridge and Beyond and Ohio's homeless.  Please keep up the good work, and know you continue to make a difference.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Crocheting Warmth and Love for Ohio's Homeless

Thank you Tara B for this cheery bright colored Afghan.  It's certainly appropriate to welcome in the autumn season.  It's hard to believe summer has past, but as I type my fingers are cold and so I am reminded that it is September and the last 3 days it's only been in the forty's in the morning.  So warmth is indeed needed for our homeless friends.  Tara's afghan is crocheted and sized large enough for a family to enjoy it.  

She's also been busy crocheting hats and scarves.   As you can see, there are several matching sets.  Please click to see details and notice the bagged personal care kits.  She's included 2 cotton washcloths, toothpaste and wipes in each baggy.  What a nice way to gift wrap it.  She's tied the two cloths together also, which is such a nice touch.

Some time back Tara had the brilliant idea to set up a sock order on Amazon.  I thought this was such a smart idea.  She doesn't have to take time to go shopping or repackage them to send here.  She set it up on Amazon and they mail directly to me.  The idea of the year, IMHO.

Many thanks Tara and please keep up the good work.  You truly are making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Mother and Daughter Team Up to Help Homeless

Thank you Tara B for this donation of 12 pairsof socks!  Let me back up a bit.  A while back Tara had a brilliant idea.  Instead of shopping buying socks to add to her crocheted donations; she would set up a repeat order on Amazon and the socks would be shipped to me.......she pays no shipping costs that way as well.  I thought it was a wonderful idea.

So the first shipment came, I took a picture and somehow when it was being transferred from my phone to the computer it vanished.  (please scroll to previous post with more info on this.  It's happened twice recently, and I don't know why.

Then her 2nd shipment came so I photographed them both together.  Still had the 1st package having not yet put in the bags for delivery.

Tara tells her mother Lara about Bridge and Beyond, and Lara who taught Tara to crochet decided she would join in.  She crocheted this traditional ripple, always a favorite.  This is sc back stitch, which is how you get the awesome texture.  I LOVE this, it reminds me of my Mother, because she taught me to crochet back in the day how to knit and crochet.  A nice memory.  AND I love the primary colors she used, so bright and cherry.

She also crocheted hats, and headbands.  And she included socks and some personal care items with the her donation.

Lara M. is our newest pair of helping hands.  Thrilled to have you join us and please know that you are making an important difference in the lives of those less fortunate. 

 Many thanks, and please keep up the good work.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.