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amyable
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| Posted: Jan 22 2010 at 2:36pm | IP Logged
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I was wondering if we could exchange ideas on ways (besides sending $$$) that we can help charities during those seasons in our lives we are needed mostly in the home. (Like for example right now, our kids have been passing colds around for weeks and weeks. Even IF we had made arrangements to visit a nursing home or something, I wouldn't want them to go and get residents sick. Just an example.)
I'm thinking like knitting blankets for Project Linus, making something and auctioning it for charity on etsy, donating extra home goods to Goodwill, or hopefully some NON-crafty options you ladies can come up with. 
Links would be GREAT.
I think it would help some of us feel better about not being able to "do anything" when we hear of tragedies, or when we have donated money that dh has "OKed" but want to do more.
I'll put out the general disclaimer for everyone: please check out a charity's integrity before donating to it.
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 22 2010 at 3:14pm | IP Logged
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Prayer, taking time from your day for prayer especially for that intention.. those suffering as well as those in the front lines for being there to help NEED those prayers. It doesn't seem like much.. it's often preceded by "only" or followed by "that's all" but it's the MOST that you can do, not the least. Go over to the thread that shows the works of mercy.. they're not numbered except to help seperate them.. one is not better than others.. and one of those is praying for the living and the dead.. prayer is not less than clothing the naked or feeding the hungry. And during different stages of our lives.. prayer is not only all that you can do but also the best you can do.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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joann10
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| Posted: Jan 22 2010 at 3:31pm | IP Logged
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My kids make mission rosaries. We get our supplies through Our Lady's Rosary Makers. We have sent hundreds of rosaries all around the world.
This group,
Holy Cross Family Ministries has a US address to send rosaries to, from there they send them around the world. I received an email that they would love to get 1 million rosaries to send to Haiti.
So my kids have been making these rosaries like crazy lately.
We have also made tied fleece blanket for our local Catholic Charities. They were very happy to receive them and are very happy to receive little knitted caps and hats and mittens for children. I like this local group because we just didn't mail something away, the kids got to take the fleece blankets and items into the center themselves. It made them feel great!
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: Jan 22 2010 at 10:49pm | IP Logged
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A local charity, a Catholic care home run by a dear friend, supplied the perfect answer to a longterm desire to be able to help others from within our home...she asked me to write thank you letters and send out Christmas cards for them. It seems like such an insignificant task, but for those on the front lines it saves valuable time that is better spent serving those in their care. (Leaflet Missal Co. carries a lovely assortment of boxed Christmas cards and thank you cards for under $5 if anyone ever finds themselves involved in such a project)
BTW, that same friend regularly calls with prayer requests for the needs of their charity...in this busy world, prayer is truly a much needed and meaningful act of charity! Oneday we will truly understand the magnitude of each and every prayer we have ever offered up for those in need.
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4 lads mom
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| Posted: Jan 23 2010 at 6:28am | IP Logged
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I ditto the prayer importance, offering up all that we do every day.......but one thing I would like to do more of, because I have personal experience with it....is knit or quilt blankets for NICU. I’ve had three babies in NICU, two for extended stays. I received knitted and quilted blankets for the last two babies....they are so, so special. I can’t tell you how much it raised my spirits the day I walked up to Lily’s NICU crib and it was all decked out with this lovely blanket.....pink.....I stood there and cried. I was so touched that someone made that for my baby,it offered a glimpse of cheery in a pretty intense place. When we lost a baby at 18 weeks, I delivered him at the hospital. They gave us a beautiful tiny crocheted blanket to hold him in and keep....I cherish it.
So.....that is something relatively easy to do, you can get hooked up with a knitting or quilting guild in your area, or call a local yarn shop, or the volunteer guild at a hospital, and I am sure they would know the next step. There are usually a few specifics to making these blankets, like I think they want acrylic, because it can be washed, etc...
I know that wasn’t a non crafty idea  but I know how much it can impact others.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 23 2010 at 7:23am | IP Logged
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Amy- this is such a good thread, and one that is often on my mind. I had a bad run in with an older man at church last fall who wanted me to volunteer for a project. He told me having kids is no excuse... there would be a nursery provided. He gave me an earful, so I gave him an earful back about my dd's health concerns and why she can't be left in the care of strangers. Not my finest moment.
Project Linus is a great idea. Also, my mom and I make colorful pillowcases to give to the local hospitals for the children's cancer ward. We buy the fabric on sale at JoAnns. They are very easy to make and well liked by the kids.
Pillow cases for cancer kids
I want to say also- and maybe I am wrong- that it just seems to me that having to have a babysitter to watch my own kids so I can go and volunteer just seems off to me. I "volunteer" all day at home, every day.
There truly is a season for everything.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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anitamarie
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| Posted: Jan 23 2010 at 7:36am | IP Logged
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Our parish has a ministry of making casseroles for the local homeless shelter. Once a month, people make them at home and drop off at church. People also prepare food for funeral luncheons. Maybe something like that goes on in your area.
God Bless,
Anita
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florasita
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I love MCC they have on thier website how to make up different care packs , some are for general hygene , some for new mums etc. you even sew the bag yourself . They offer the pattern online 
You then go with the kids down to the local MCC office and do a drop off. It'd be fun with a group or as a family.
My friend and I were talking yesterday about the gov & media talking about people not to act on adoption as a result of the news . Adoption agencies said they always get this right after a natural disater . They said there already have been 15 children abducted and suspect child trafficing has begun .of course child trafficing existed already just after a disaster it escalates.
Mary knows a family who were going to adopt a child then they decided to support a local family in the area to raise the child .
We are looking into how one would go about this in hati now . This would involve money of course .
again I highly reccommend MCC project
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stellamaris
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I know one thing that would help our local crisis pregnancy center here is someone to wash and fold donated baby clothes and put together layettes. My daughters both volunteered at the center doing this task, but there is no reason it couldn't be done at home. You could contact your local pregnancy center and see if they would like your help. No craft skills required!
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Caroline
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stellamaris
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| Posted: Jan 23 2010 at 9:26am | IP Logged
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SeaStar wrote:
| Amy- this is such a good thread, and one that is often on my mind. I had a bad run in with an older man at church last fall who wanted me to volunteer for a project. He told me having kids is no excuse... there would be a nursery provided. He gave me an earful, so I gave him an earful back about my dd's health concerns and why she can't be left in the care of strangers. Not my finest moment. |
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I just wanted to add a suggestion here. I have had this experience more than once, and this is what I have learned:
When someone asks me to volunteer for projects I can't or don't want to do, I simply say, "No." I no longer offer any reasons, I just keep repeating, "No, I can't." It sounds a little brusque, but some folks will just keep arguing with you and basically harassing you if you give them any reasons at all. So don't do it! HTH!!!
And I totally agree with you, Melinda, that our first priority is our vocation as wives and mothers. If all of us did our jobs at home well, there would be fewer people needing our help and charity, and more people who could help in dire circumstances, right?
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Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
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JenPre
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Amy thank you for this thread. Ever since the Hati earthquake I have been trying so hard to think os ways to help. At this point in our lives it's hard to send much money. I have been wanting to do something tangiable while I'm here at home (thanking God that I have a roof over my head and a healthy husband and baby...I've been taking it for granted lately!)
The ideas that these ladies gave are awesome! I knit and sew and just now realized thank you to this thread that there is a local Catholic shelter just down the road from us! I'm now planning on knitting up some hats and mittens to bring over to them.
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MichelleW
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4 lads mom wrote:
I ditto the prayer importance, offering up all that we do every day.......but one thing I would like to do more of, because I have personal experience with it....is knit or quilt blankets for NICU. ....I was so touched that someone made that for my baby,it offered a glimpse of cheery in a pretty intense place.
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I still cherish our preemie's NICU quilt as well--and he just turned 12.
There are a lot of behind the scenes services we can offer:
Our church runs a yearly day camp for foster kids. I can't help at the camp, but I make tea cakes for their tea party.
The Rescue Mission serves soup every evening. Several moms in our church got together to sign up to make soup one day a week. That means that I only have to do it once every couple of months, and someone else picks it up from my house and delivers it to the mission.
I don't help in the nursery or in children's religious ed classes (and my children don't attend them), but I am happy to cut out construction paper or felt pieces for a craft project they have planned.
We have made quilts and blankets for the Linus Project as well. We also knit and crochet for the Rescue Mission.
Our local crisis pregnancy center allows us to take home laundry to wash, dry and fold and return.
Whenever we hear of some kind of charity with which we would like to become involved, I ask them if they have any work that I/we could do from home. Many do--even if it takes them a minute to think of something.
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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sewcrazy
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We just made birthday care packages for children at the local battered women and children shelter. We compiled them with a group of girls from my dd's American Heritage troop. The boxes contain everything for a simple birthday party: abox of cake mix, can of frosting, candles, decorations, favors, and cards made by the girls, and a few small presents.
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LeeAnn
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AndieF
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Just a little note from me about Project Linus.
We lost our dear son to stillbirth in March 2008. We were given a blanket for our son from Project Linus, but we were also given blankets for our 3 other living children. They still all use them every night, and love them and it helps give them a tangible reminder of their brother.
So I have a huge spot in my heart for Project Linus, and I send them blankets whenever I can.
Andie, mom to 3 on earth, and 4 in heaven, including Christopher (03-28-08)
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Rebeccca
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could you wash/iron altar linens? This Saturday my daughter will be going to help in the sacristy one of the ladies will explain step-by-step how to treat, launder, iron, fold each item and what to do with the water, et c. The lady said she'd give her just 5 items to start with this week. We'll both start embroidering linens, too. My daughter will get a couple of . . . you know, each item has a different name and I can't remember them all. At any rate, she'll get some that need a small cross in the center. If she does well, she can start doing more and she'll be able to do baptismal cloths (at our parish, the cathedral, every child baptised gets one).
I'll be overseeing the laundering and embroidering baptismal garments -- they look a bit like fancy bibs.
After Saturday, we'll pick up linnens and baptismal cloths after noon mass on Fridays and drop off the laundered linens Sunday at mass. We'll bring the baptismal thingies when we're finished.
The embroidery is crafty, I guess, but easy and so enjoyable. The laundering is not crafty and could easily be done. You have to treat them (b/c of wine, Precious Blood, and lipstick) and rinse separately and dispose of the water separately and then launder. It is in no way difficult but is a necessary chore and, at least at our parish, one that is in need of volunteers.
The lady who coordinates this stuff at our parish said she's pretty desperate to get someone and we were just looking for something. It sounds perfect for everyone!
If you're interested, ask Father who is in charge of that stuff and I bet they could use you.
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Michaela
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After reading this article, donating Mother's Milk seems to be a way to help from home. (for babies in Haiti and the U.S.)
Momma Milk for Haitian Infants
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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Topic: Share ideas for charity work from home?
