While power is returning to areas hit by Hurricane Sandy, the road to recovery will be long. Over the weekend it was announced that hundreds of homes in Staten Island, Queens, and Brooklyn will be demolished.

Boxes ready to go.

Although we can’t help everyone, we can do our part, and your generous donations are helping us do more. Boxes of warm clothing have been arriving from around the country!

On Friday, November 16, 2012, employees of Knitting Fever felt a little like Santa’s elves delivering more than two dozen overflowing cartons of much needed care packages to several Long Island locations that were hard hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Good thing the van has storage space!

We are sorting the items we receive by size and type then packaging them into manageable boxes so the staff at the care organizations can quickly distribute the items to people in need.

After packing the Knitting Fever van with warm hats, gloves and socks as well as the generous donations sent by our vast network of independent yarn shops, Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Denecke and Online Marketing Manager, Karen Klein, were well on their way.

The van is ready to go.

Their first stop at the Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center, www.geraldryanoutreach.org/site/ in Wyandanch, was met with great appreciation by Miss Noelle, the program director.

Jeff making a delivery

The second stop at the Harry Chapin Food Bank at Long Island Cares, www.licares.org, in Hauppauge proved to be a very popular place. Multiple cars, trucks and vans were lined up waiting to offer donations of every sort. As fast as the donations were unloaded, they were just as quickly distributed.

Long Island Cares received items.

Our last stop for the day was at St. Joseph’s Outreach Center in Babylon where we were anxiously met by the program’s director, Cathy Raneri.

Back at our offices, many groups such as the Guardians of Rescue, www.guardiansofrescue.org/, in Smithtown, continue to make pickups from the warehouse. Knitting Fever hopes to continue this practice for as long as we continue to collect donations from our vast network of independent yarn shops. We are working directly with established, neighborhood care organizations that have existing networks in their communities.

We have also sent care packages out to local yarn stores in New Jersey to distribute to their communities.

Hurricane Sandy affected a wide area on the East Coast. We encourage you to donate in the manner and to the organization that makes you most comfortable.

Your support is adding a bright spot to these tough times.

The response to our clothing drive has been great!

Assessing amounts before boxing up.

Your enthusiasm and support is cheering the staff up (some of whom still don’t have power at home!).

We’re collecting warm clothing of all sizes, either store bought or hand knit/crocheted, to distribute the people affected by Hurricane Sandy. We’ve asked the independently owned local yarn stores we work with (find a list here) to act as collection points so you don’t have to worry about shipping costs.

Several yarn stores that weren’t in the path of Hurricane Sandy have already informed us they are ready to send us donations. And we’ve heard from private individuals sending us donations directly as well.

Considering we only just announced this project two days ago that’s pretty awesome! You can read more about it in this blog post.

We thought it would be a good idea to let you know how we’re managing the effort so you know you’re donations are reaching the people who need them.

Each care package was filled with hats, gloves, and sock

For this first round of distribution we’ve created care packages containing:

We are distributing the items we collect in a few ways.

First, we’ve arranged to send care packages to a dozen independently owned local yarn stores in New York and New Jersey that were in the path of the storm. They will be distributing the items to people in need in their neighborhoods.

Second, we’re working with care organizations here on Long Island that have established networks in their communities. Sadly, we just have to look around us to see where help is needed.

Loading the pallets of garbage bags.

We delivered 20 boxes of 60 gallon garbage bags (which is 2,000 bags!) to the local St. Killian’s pantry to aid in the clean up effort in the Amityville area. Now that the clothing care packages are packed up we’ll be sending some of those over as well.

We looking into delivering garbage bags and clothing care packages to the Amityville Fire Department. They are hosting dinners Friday and Saturday night, which seem like good opportunities to distribute items.

St Martin of Tours Outreach program here in Amityville has also received items to distribute.

Tomorrow some employees will head out to Rockaway Beach & Staten Island, two areas that were particularly hard hit, to also distribute garbage bags & care package boxes.

Packed up and ready to go!

Once we receive your donations we’ll do it all again!

Other Ways to Help

Cash donations to your preferred charity are always a good idea. That gives the people on the ground the flexibility to respond to changing needs. (Remember, DON’T send us cash or checks! We are NOT set up to handle them. We’re just collecting warm clothing and blankets. Thanks!)

We’re hearing from many yarn stores that are planning to donate a portion of their sales this month to hurricane relief efforts. Go visit your favorite store or check their website to see if they are running a fundraising effort.

Several independent designers are donating a portion of their pattern sales this month. Check their blogs, website, or Ravelry. We posted links to a few on our Facebook page, as well.

The road to recovery is going to be long. Thanks for your support!

As you know, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in Atlantic City, N.J., last week and created devastation up and down the East Coast.

Over 80 people died as a result of the storm and millions have been without power for over a week.

Our headquarters and many of our employees and their families are based in Amityville, NY, which is on Long Island. Our office was without power, phones, and internet. Staff members didn’t fare much better with some homes under water. Our owner spent a great deal of time securing generators for staff members, even while dealing with damage to his own property.

We have now established some stability and are ready to start helping those around us. We are hearing from local yarn stores that are doing fund drives and opening their doors to cold knitters & crocheters who need a place to hang out and recharge.

While the immediate needs of recovering from the disaster (access to food and clean water) are best addressed by a cash donation to your preferred charity, we know knitters and crocheters express their concern through their crafts.

Clothing Drive

Knitting Fever has purchased 1,200 pairs of socks, 1,248 hats and 1,046 gloves which we are preparing to distribute to families in the affected areas through our vast network of independent local yarn shops.

We’re also distributing two pallets of large industrial garbage bags, which might not be the first thing that springs to mind as being needed, but there is a massive clean up underway and a shortage of bags.

“How can I help?” you ask.

Your donations of knit or crochet clothing, afghans, hats, scarves, etc.,  can help us do it again and again over the next few weeks. 

Please note donations are not limited to handmade items. Any items of clothing, blankets, etc., are very much needed!

We are coordinating with our network of independently owned Local Yarn Stores across the country to have them act as collection points. Once they have received your knit or crochet donation they’ll call us and we’ll arrange to have UPS pick it up at our cost. (Many stores–especially those in the affected areas– are donating a portion of their sales this month to hurricane relief, so it might be a good time to buy that yarn you’ve been eyeing, too.)

Use the “find a store” feature on our website to locate stores across the country that stock our yarn. You can search based on zip code. Keep an eye on your favorite store’s website or social media. They are starting to post about their participation.

It will surely be a great comfort for the victims of Sandy’s fury to know the rest of America is doing its part to bring some relief to those in need.

Please bring your knit or crochet relief items ASAP to your local yarn shop. The sooner we receive them the sooner they can start helping people in need.

We like to say that hand knit and crocheted items are like a long distance hug.

Well, the East Coast could sure use a hug right now!