Mad Hatting Challenge

How can I help when...

knitting needles

I don't knit?
Sponsor the knitting team! Pledge a certain amount per hat completed or make a flat donation. All money collected will be sent directly to the orphanages to buy blankets. Or, donate a new purchased hat. If buying a hat to donate, please buy something that covers both the head and neck. Shipping space is precious, so a ski mask or balaclava is preferable to a hat and scarf combo.

I knit, but I don't have time to make a hat?
Sponsor the knitting team! Or dig through your stash for yarn to donate to the knitters. Even one or two skeins will be a great help.

I knit, but don't belong to St Luke's?
Knit your heart out! Your hats or sweaters will count toward the challenge total when calculating pledges, provided that they're handmade.

St. Luke's mission team returned from Zimbabwe having wittnessed dozens of children in the four orphanges they visited going without the simplest necessities, the most immediate and pressing of which is blankets for the upcoming winter. Winter in Zimbabwe runs from June through September and temperatures can drop to 14°F at night. The orphanages that our team visited were heated only by cooking fires and most children had only one blanket. Zimbabwe is in the Southern Hemisphere, so it starts to get cold in April and it is full winter by June.

We are committed to ensuring that additional blankets arrive for the upcoming winter.

Because shipping this many blankets would be prohibitively expensive, we are collecting dontations for blankets that will be wired directly to our trusted contacts in Zimbabwe who will purchase the blankts there and deliver them to the orphanages. And so is born the Mad Hatting Challenge. Our dedicated knitters (and crocheters) at St. Luke's will make one winter hat as tangible loving gift to be given to each child. We ask for sponsors to donate a certain amount of money per hat we complete or to make a flat donation, and all the money collected will be used to buy blankets before the upcoming winter. With enough support, we can ensure that each child has at least one additional blanket against the cold.

Sponsor the Team

Please send an email, phone the church at 815.288.2151 or speak to Hope to pledge a certain amount per hat.

Make a flat donation

By check
Please make checks payable to St. Luke's Church and be sure to make a note that the donation is for the Hatting Challenge blankets.

By Paypal
Click here to donate the amountof your choice with your credit card via Paypal.

Donate yarn or garments

Please send donations of yarn or finished garments to
Hat Challenge
c/o Hope Greene
209 West Third Street
Dixon, IL
61021

If possible, please make a hat that will cover both the head and the neck, but we will gratefully receive any warm hat, vest or sweater. We need sizes to fit 8-13 year olds, so a large child size or small adult size will work. Avoid lacy or open stitch patterns. The following are links to good patterns for hats, but the sizes may need to be adjusted a bit.
Trav's Balaclava
Adult/Child Knitted Helmet
Thorpe
Toasty Topper
WW1 Patterns