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Project "BUNDLE UP NEW ORLEANS"
(Knitivity's first community project)

Update - 28 February 2006

Deadline for last WINTER 2006 DELIVERY: MARCH 15

Due to the warming trend in New Orleans weather, I have set March 15 as the last date for knits to be distributed in the New Orleans area for Katrina returnees. BUT .... the good news:

The BUNDLE UP PROJECT is going national! Watch this space in June when I will announce plans for the next winter season. There is no excuse for any child, woman, or man to be without warm clothing in the winter, and we need to be sure we are prepared ahead of time to meet the need wherever it arises!

I have to thank all our volunteers and helpers this year, and I look forward to expanding this project for the next season!

Update - 16 February 2006

This morning there will be another delivery to the Treme Food Bank. The pictures below include all from the 4-Feb-16 aborted delivery attempt PLUS

30 more scarves
20 more hats
almost 50 pounds of assorted foods (canned meats, soups, several cases of ramen noodles, two cases tomato soup, almost a case of peanuts.... LOTS of goodies for LOTS of hungry families)

How cool is that!!!! Check out these pix taken from different angles:

Stitch on, my wonderful friends and handy-crafters! WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

Update - 14 February 2006

Another dozen or more scarves arrived this week. After a slight transportation snafu, I've arranged for a local volunteer driver to help me carry all your knitted and donated winterwear to the Treme Food Bank on Thursday. Seeing the continued outpouring of love and support for the families of New Orleans is such a blessing to so many.

I hear the news of incidents across the country -- especially the amazing blizzard up north over the last few days -- and wonder what it would be like to have a national distribution center prepared for such occasions. I want very much to travel to each such location with a shipment of hats, scarves, blankets, mittens and other winterwear to help cover and protect those who need it.

That's an expensive proposition, but I am confident that there will be those who are able to assist with the expenses of such a work. Until then, I'll press forward.

Update - 8 February 2006

Another great load of goodies so far this week:

15 scarves

6 shirts.jackets

6 sweaters

1 sweatshirt

Update - 4 February 2006
This week's delivery load!!!!

Check it out!

This represents the handwork and donations from TEN different people in NINE different states!

These are the things we are taking to the Treme Food Bank today:

32 scarves
3 pair of mittens
65 hats (wow, same as last week!)
1 poncho
2 headbands
2 pair gloves
8 blankets (including a gorgeous pink and white baby blanket with matching pillow!)
1 shawl

This is amazing! Plus one of our contributors sent a box of superwash wool to use for making even more goodies for the people of New Orleans.

I was able to locate another distribution site in case our first one becomes overwhelmed. There is a senior center in one of the areas of town where reportedly the neighborhood flocks for food, clothing, and other goods. The main population of this neighborhood (the St. Thomas area) are generally low-income, BUT there are also many in the area who have experienced a lot of damage in their original homes in other parts of New Orleans and are now taking advantage of available resources in the parts of town not originally affected by Katrina. It's not just the people in the flooded areas who were affected -- everyone in town has been affected in one way or another, and so many of them are displaced to new areas and are definitely in need, regardless where they are.

So let's keep knitting, crocheting and building a resource for those in need! It is totally exciting to be part of something good in New Orleans!

Update - 31 January 2006
KEEP KNITTING!!!!

I just talked with the director of the Treme Food Bank to clarify the misunderstanding over the weekend with the security guard at the door. Apparently people have been using that site as a drop-off junk box for all sorts of used clothing, which was becoming burdensome for them. They DO need winterwear, and she assured me that they DO appreciate the Bundle Up New Orleans project, and our handwork has been well-received in particular. She is just as amazed and grateful as we are at the knitted and crocheted handwork coming from all over the country. .

This relieves my heart and mind that we can continue this project as long as it is needed. Of course, if we DO get more than one site can reasonably distribute we will seek out additional places. Having 20,000 knitted hats and scarves for the people of New Orleans is NOT too much for this city when so many people have so little to keep warm with.

And, even later in the season, when people are getting into better situations, there are always plenty of homeless people. If there is a goodly supply of knitted winterwear and protective garments (hats, scarves, blankets) I have no problem carrying a sack of them around and distributing them to those who have none. (I'd go with a partner and during the daytime, of course, but I would be sure everything donated is given to someone who can use it.)

So far this week:

7 hats
1 pair mittens

Update - 28 January 2006
DELIVERY!!!!

This morning a friend and co-worker drove me and this week's collections over to the Treme Food Bank. Lookie all the goodies

It is difficult to count it all out, even though I laid it out in neat rows, but this is the full assortment of goodies received this week from all over:

1 Poncho
7 Blankets
6 headband earwarmers
3 pair socks
6 pair children's gloves
3 sweaters
65 HATS !!!!!!!!!

How cool is that!!?? And it came from volunteer knitters all over the country. I hear there is more yet to come on the way.

We will be locating additional distribution sites in the future, as the Treme Food Bank has indicated they have enough clothing, and they weren't set up as a clothing site originally anyway. As much as we want to give, we need to be careful to give in locations where it is both needed AND where it can be properly distributed.

No matter, I'm not discouraged. There are many places that can use knitted winterwear, so we just need to be creative and find those places. You can be sure I'll be on the phone all this week. It probably doesn't help that here in middle of January it is 68 degrees today and people have a short memory and only think of immediate needs. But we WILL have plenty of cold days and nights before Spring gets here. i don't intend to close this program at least until March, before moving to a national program.

I continue to be excited about doing something good for the community, and especially grateful to all who have already sent us some hand-knits, and those who are continuing to knit for this program. There are many similar programs, so when this program is closed for the season, there are many other places who can use your volunteer efforts!

Update - 26 January 2006

Three more boxes today (Ohio Oregon, Illinois)

6 pair gloves
6 earwarmers
13 hats
2 scarves
PLUS two donated bags of small children's clothing (pre-loved)

Update - 25 January 2006

The UPS guy may get tired of coming here, but I don't get tired of hearing his knock late afternoons! Today it was TWO BOXES (California and Ohio), with:

4 baby blankets
1 adult poncho
1 pair teen socks
11 hats

Update - 24 January 2006

A mystery box from a mystery knitter! More precisely, the return address says "A. Knitter" in Winsconsin. And lookie all the goodies she sent:

Several hats of many styles, for teens and adults, plus 3 child-size blankets, plus an adult sweater. How wonderful!!! "A. Knitter" must have been working ahead to get all this much done and ready so quickly, eh? This is the kind of stock-piling I want to be able to create for a national Bundle Up Relief Project! (uhhh.. B.U.R.P.??? hmmm... maybe not!) But this is a beginning of something totally wonderful and helpful for so many people! I'm pleased as punch, and very proud of all our contributors, donors, knitters, crafters and well-wishers.

We're going to have a BIG trip to Treme Food Bank this week! Woo-hoo!!!!!!

Update - 20 January 2006

On Wednesday, January 18, we received a couple dozen hats, plus some scarves, as our first delivery box for Treme Food Bank. These came from local knitters, as well as places like Nebraska and Illinois (the Illinois box was even hand-delivered to our Knitting Meetup meeting-- how cool is that, to see some of the distant names and faces of those who are helping us out!!!)

Today, we received two more boxes of goodies (this time from California and Minnesota!) which included:

15 hats
2 sweaters
1 Moebius scarf
2 pair of socks (1 for adult, 1 for small child)

WOW! Totally awesome. Lookie here:

Very cool, huh? And they're all tagged now and ready to go! Each of the tags says "A gift of caring from Bundle Up New Orleans", with our logo on the tag.

Update - 4 January 2006

Lookie!!! Thanks to Kevin Besse (Rayne, LA), Mike Armstrong (Tallahassee, FL), and "Anonymous" -- we were given a combined total of $200.00 in gifts to spend on yarn for Bundle Up New Orleans. I took it to Garden District Needlework Shop, where Diana (one of the owners) gave me a 10% discount, so that I was able to get 40 balls of Plymouth Encore (plus tax, which I covered... no biggie). So now look at the pile we get to use for creating goodies:

All those bright solids on the floor with white bands, that's the Encore. Plus we already have 3 full baskets and 2 smaller bags of yarns already balled up from my own collection.

Compared to the estimated need in New Orleans this winter, just for the returning Katrina evacuees, not counting the regular homeless and needy populations, this is nowhere near enough, but we will do our best. For just the one site we've already contacted, I'm sure they'll be able to distribute 50 or more scarves AND hats a week. And there will likely be MANY other sites who could use some Bundle Up goodies. That's okay -- we will just do the best we can and trust others to do the same, right?

I've gotten word, too that knitters from Hawaii, New York, and one of the northern states are also busy knitting away for us. How cool is that??

Update - 3 January 2006

Today I went with Melissa over to St. Augustine Church, over in the Treme neighborhood, to visit with the folks running the foodbank there. We were told that they assist up to about 100 people a day when they are open (3 days a week), and generally about 20 or so are looking for winterwear -- jackets, hats, etc. More and more families are returning to that part of town now; in spite of the hardships, for many of them it is the only "home" they know and they feel they need to be there to put their lives together.

While we were there, we saw several clients come in for food. They were each given a grocery bag and invited to take what they needed from the abundance spread out on tables around the large room. The people I saw weren't hoarding up everything, but very carefully picking and choosing just one of these, or two of those.

As we were leaving the church, in the very next block, we passed the rubble of what used to be a house. Underneath were several cats. They were skittish and afraid, but Melissa carries cat food for just such a reason these days, and she opened a half dozen small cans of cat food. Several of the cats came and started gobbling it all down, but the smallest of the bunch, a little runt of a thing, picked up one of the cans in its teeth and ran with it under the rubble of the house far away from the crowd of other cats. He took what he needed and left the rest for others.

Both the people and the cats played out for us a scene repeated hundreds of times a day in New Orleans now. Their needs are simple and small, but very real. And for those who ask for just a little something to keep warm during the cold spells, we need to be sure there is something for them.

Just for this one distribution site, during the next few months until the last cold snap passes, I'm sure we can use up to 50 or more hats and scarves a week. That's a LOT of knitting! WOW! Over the next few months, thousands more people will be trying to return to New Orleans, and many of them have lost everything.

We will take a bundle at least once a week to this location, or more if we have enough to take. And, if we have more than they can use we will also visit places like Second Harvesters and food banks and community service centers.

Project "BUNDLE UP NEW ORLEANS" (Knitivity's first community project)