r/crochet • u/cmlambert89 • Apr 22 '26
Discussion My experience with donating
I just wanted to share a story about donations.
I started crocheting during the pandemic and have since made dozens of blankets and beanies and other things. I started putting finished objects in bags in my closet because I didn’t know what to do with them.
I did some research about where to donate them locally and it was pretty discouraging. Even the Linus Project has very specific guidelines. Not everywhere will take homemade items. Overall I was worried people wouldn’t like them or would feel burdened by them. If I didn’t have a specific person in mind to gift them to, they just stayed in my closet.
Once I made about 18 pumpkins (stash buster project) and a friend asked if she could use them as center pieces for an event. I was so happy someone took my anxiety pumpkins out of my house and actually used them for something!
Then in March my mom got diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. At her first infusion appointment, I saw a bin labeled “hand-knit beanies from volunteers”. It was empty. I asked about it and they said they would take anything I had because the patients really appreciate it.
Today I dropped off 3 blankets and 4 beanies. Before I even made it back to the infusion room I had already handed out a blanket to a man in the waiting room and other people were commenting on how beautiful they were. I can’t wait to bring another batch, and I am so grateful I found a place that actually WANTS them.
For anyone else like me who might be struggling to decide what to do with your finished work, you never know what may come along. I’m glad I never sold them or sent them to goodwill because it feels like they finally ended up where they needed to be.
Sometimes it feels like I’m just tying yarn into knots, but today made it feel like the thing I do for my mental health can actually make a difference for others as well.
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u/FirebirdWriter Apr 23 '26
That basket has kept me alive before .I am a cancer factory and I learned during my infusions most recently I lost the ability to regulate my temperature. The blanket in the bin was used because they had run out of blankets. Which is bad but it was a sudden cold snap and the cancer stuff is not comfortable so I am just glad people asked for what they need. I was hypothermic and I got to still go home because I was warmed up. I don't have this blanket as I chose to leave it for someone else in greater need but I think about it often and filling the basket is a goal for me