Charity Blitz

Every month at Crochetville (one of the sites I frequent almost daily) there is a Charity Blitz, which means for six days out of the month a bunch of members get together, chat on the thread and crochet our hearts out for charity. Now, a lot of us already crochet for charity, but for these six days we put aside any other projects we may have going and just dedicate all of our free time to whatever charity we've picked to crochet for.

My pick is a charity based in the village of Maybrook, where my parents live with my two younger brothers. It's called Tiny Hands in Need of Kindness. I first found out about this charity when I was first pregnant with Ben. My fiance, Stephen, had lost his job and at first, we weren't sure how we were going to manage a toddler and a new baby with no income. My mom handed me a small brochure about the charity, her Catholic Daughters group holds a "Madonna Shower" every year to get donations for this charity, more about what a Madonna Shower is later. However, Stephen soon got a letter from the county's emergency services center stating that he was being considered for an opening for a public safety dispatcher. We figured that if we could make it until he was hired there (we were positive he would get the job, he had one of the highest scores in the past five years on the dispatcher test, and he's worked previously as a dispatcher) then we would be okay. He found a summer job in a camp that paid pretty well and we did make it financially until he was hired there. Because of him getting a temporary job and then the permanent one, I decided not to contact the charity because I figured there were plenty of people worse off than us and I didn't want to take away from what the charity was able to provide to them. Since we were so close to needing such help for our children, I decided to crochet at least one blanket a month for this charity, and when my mother's Catholic Daughters group held their Madonna Shower, there would be at least 12 blankets a year for the charity. This year there will probably be only 3 or 4 since the shower is usually held in April, but there will be 12 the following year.

Now for the Madonna Shower explanation. The Catholic Daughters of the Church of the Assumption in Maybrook collect baby and childrens items all year round for Tiny Hands in Need of Kindness, but every year in April, they host a baby shower. Now, unlike regular baby showers held for expectant mothers, this baby shower is for the charity to help get a big donation together for them. Tiny Hands in Need of Kindness helps a lot of kids, especially pregnant teenagers and children of teenage parents. A lot of pregnant teenagers don't have what they need for a baby so this charity helps them get at least the basics.The Madonna Shower helps provide the basics to the charity so they can provide this service. Have I confused you yet? I'm not very good at explaining things sometimes.

Now off to work on this months blanket, the Charity Blitz only runs to the 23rd, so I want to get at least one blanket done in this timeframe, and maybe even start a second.