Starting non-profit knitting for adult cancer patients--need advice

The Coffee Shop
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hi all,
a friend of mine is batteling breast cancer. she is in her mid 30’s–a marathon runner and avid cyclist. she is the last person to suspect being sick; but she has this unwelcome visitor and is doing her best to kick it out of dodge (the cancer). she talks often about the support she’s gotten from friends and family, how this is helping her heal and cope.

to help her in the journey, i designed a beautiful hand-knit mohair blanket for her; she loves it and is able to wrap up in it, etc. i told her every stitch of that blanket is woven with good peaceful thoughts all for her!

then i read about Doug Stern. So, i knit him a blanket too; each stitch is woven with good healing thoughts for him.

While a hand-knit blanket is only a blanket, it stills shows caring, love, warmth and encouragement, all of which helps the process of healing and coping both for the patient and their family.
i know first hand that a generous act can make a difference and provide encouragement and a sense of love.
On a personal level it is awesome to make something like this for someone who needs a hug from the blanket of encouragement and well-wishes.

So, after completing these two blankets, i’ve been thinking more about adults with cancer, and knitting. While i cannot take away the disease, it is possible through knitting that i can make some sort of difference for people who are suffering or going through struggles of cancer. i know other knitters would probably be interested in the same; but to my knowledge there is no organization to mobilize knitters/blanket-makers on a grand scale. Therefore, i’m thinking about starting one, but need advice on how to do it; i do not know how to start up a non-profit.

Does anyone have experience with starting up a non-profit?
To start, i’m assuming i’d need to come up with a name; register it; put up a website and try to mobilize people…

thanks for any advice,
JoAnne

PS–For children, i am associated with Project Linus, which is a volunteer blanket making organization who gives the blankets to needy children of all ages. i love this association and support it through knitting and funds every year. the volunteers who make blankets are called “blanketeers”, i’m proud to be one. :slight_smile:

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JoAnne,

PM or email me if you like. I set up a breast cancer non-profit in memory of my mother, and do alot of non-profits in my law practice. See www.momslasagna.org. I even got sponsors and did team race apparel from Louis Garneau. Anyway, that is off your subject, so yes I know what you need to do and can help if you like.

Also, a dear friend of mine (and of ST’er Christina) died not long ago after battling breast cancer for years. She started a nonprofit here in Louisville called Blanket of Hope that provided pink blankets to each newly diagnosed breast cancer patient she could find. A couple of her friends were supposed to have taken it over and tried to continue her work. I don’t know how much they have done. I can try and find out for you.

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that is so awesome.
Thanks for reaching out!

i like the pink blanket idea; and would love to have a contact if it’s still going strong.

my idea is to start here in Cincy, and make in-roads to go nation wide with quilters, sewers, knitters, etc, all making blankets on behalf of men and women of all ages and types of cancer.

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that is a compelling story you’ve got on that site!

good on ya. :slight_smile:

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You might want to check with the knitters guild in your area. I know the one is dallas does a lot of charity work.

I’ve been making hats and socks for my friends going through chemo. Their extremities get cold very easy.

My sister taught some women how to knit while she was doing her treatments. It kept their minds off stuff.

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thanks Pam; great idea! i’m trying to get in touch with one of the ladies there. :slight_smile:

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YOU GO, GIRL!!!

I am so proud of you!!! This is an AWESOME idea, right up your alley in so many ways.

Btw, you can get extra business advice through SCORE, the retired executives organization: www.score.org . Ask for a non-profit specialist.

In addition, there are also children with cancer, as you know. I’ve done performing in the children’s cancer wards. Some kids get better and some don’t, but all the kids have this interesting ‘wisdom’ (“old souls”?) to them due to their experiences. In addition, for the kids who get better, they are so happy to remember the people who have helped them while they were ill. I had watched one girl ‘grow up’ to be healthy and strong after her cancer sessions; she came and saw me a few years later.

I have a couple of promo ideas for you to help mobilize knitters:
-working with craft and/or knitting stores to put little tags near their yarn,
-creating “learn to knit” parties,
-incorporating the very-popular craft of ‘scrapbooking’ into healing-blanket projects (so that you can reach into the scrap-booking communities…).

Hey, I might even learn to knit one day simply to help you send a blanket. What a worthy cause!

xxoo
lauren

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KK

Let me know if you get this going - my wife and I both knit, and would be glad to help.

While the blankets are nice and simple, one of the other things that has been done before is hats for chemo patients. It helps take a bit of the sting out of the change in appearance, and something stylish and unique is really appreciated. There was a program in Canada doing this. People could have a lot of flexibility witht heir choice of designs, and you would probably get repeat creations from the knitters becasue of that.

Also, remember if the blankets are going to patients while in hospital, they do need to be synthetic for a variety of reasons.

Good luck, a worthwhile venture.

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thanks Jim and FC;

Jim i have read about chemo caps and scarves–i think that is a neat idea.

FC, the kids cancer support that i’m involved with is Project Linus; which is a very special organization…it is not geared just towards cancer, but to kids of need in every respect. i bought a book recently about knitting for peace, and it outlines different non-profits for children and cancer…great stuff.

as for my calling towards this, the non-profit is def something i’d like to do; but i have to decide if it makes sense to start a new one, or support one that already exists. more research will reveal that answer. part of me gets amped up about starting something new and seeing it grow. however, even though starting up is exciting, it’s a ton of work, and ultimately, it’s about helping others, so i want to do that the best way possible. so if that means starting up something new, i’ll do that. if it means getting involved in something that already exists, then i will happily go in that direction.

thanks for reaching out everybody; and special thanks to patrick for the help yesterday!

joanne