Inspire Kindness

We found a blog on kindness at Inspire Kindess and thought we would share this list.

Here are 20 ideas for kind acts to give your children: 

1. Call your grandparents.

2. Plan a bear hunt in your neighborhood by asking people to put stuffed bears to their windows. Download printable poster and social media post. 

3. Add encouraging messages to your sidewalks using chalk.

4. Make kindness rocks.

5. FaceTime a friend from school that you don’t talk to often to say hello.

6. Write a note to a parent to let them know they are doing a good job being your parent.

7. Make your parents breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

8. Don’t fight with your siblings. 

9. Color pictures for people you love and then put them in the mail. 

10. Leave a note and a small gift for delivery drivers.

11. Write a letter or make a card for a relative.

12. Do your chores without being asked and without complaining.

13. Stay at least 6 feet away from other people, even your grandparents.

14. Pick weeds from your flower beds and gardens. 

15. Tell each of your family members one thing you love about them.

16. Lead a prayer before dinner asking for this virus to go away.

17. Call your cousins.

18. Give a parent a big hug out of the blue.

19. Host a virtual game night with friends.

20. Place large signs with kind messages in your windows so people can be inspired as they drive or walk by.

How to Help

It’s easy to be scared during these unprecedented times. We hope that you are safe and well, practicing social distancing and staying safe at home.

If you are able and want to help, some of the hospitals are requesting items, due to the lack of PPE (Personal protective equipment).

Our sweet friend, Melissa, a nurse, forwarded me an email that her hospital (St. Joseph) and CHOC are requesting  the following items:

In addition to new, unused 3M, N95 and surgical masks, we can accept the following supplies for making face shields:

• Bolts of 16, 18 or 20-gauge clear vinyl
• 3/8-inch and/or 1/2-inch braided elastic in white or black
• 1-inch Airtex High Density Foam (green)
• Gorilla Glue or 3M Scotch Heavy Duty Double-Sided Mounting Tape

You can mail them directly to

 St. Joseph Hospital
1100 W. Stewart Drive
 Orange, CA  92868

or

CHOC
1201 W. La Veta Avenue
Orange, CA 92868

For questions, pls email COVID19Donations@providence.org

You may also contact your local hospital and ask if they need these donations.

We have also found Masks for Heroes (website) and a Facebook Group. There are instructions on how to make facemasks and how to donate to hospitals directly.

There are also many online patterns and Youtube tutorials if you want to crochet a facemask for personal wear for minimum trips to the grocery store.  Just google Crochet Facemask with face shield.

We underline that you should only donate if you can and have these items available to you without making unnecessary trips to the store.

We are so appreciative of all of you in our community of prayer and hope.

We send our best wishes and positive thoughts.

Thank you!
~Pali

Delivery: 175 to Babies

A little bit ago, our dear friend, Melissa was able to deliver 175 items to the babies in the NICU at St. Joe’s in Orange County.   The delivery included 110 red hats, 64 hats of various styles and colors, and 1 pair of baby booties.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this delivery, by making the hats, labeling and photographing the hats to delivering the hats!  We are so grateful that you are committed to spreading hope and love!

Thank you!
~Pali

Delivery: 123 items to Children and Teenage Chemo Warriors

Last week, our dear friend, Melissa was able to deliver 123 items to the Pediatric Oncology Unit at CHOC (Children’s Hospital in Orange County).  It included 3 scarves, 1 headband and 119 hats of various styles, colors, and sizes.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this delivery, by making the hats, labeling and photographing the hats to delivering the hats!  We are so appreciative of you and your dedication to making this world a better place!  It’s easy as 1-2-3 because of you and your support!

Thank you!
~Pali

Utah’s Skyridge High School Sends Hope

We received a package filled with hats from the National Honor Society from Skyridge High School in Utah.

We are so impressed when youth get involved in making a difference in the world- showing compassion and love for strangers is a lesson that few understand until much later in life.

We are so proud of everyone involved and thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Thank you!
~Pali

So Proud of our Youth!

We received a box of hats made by the ROAM Club from Burroughs High School in Ridgecrest, California.

We always applaud when our youth get involved to make this world a kinder, better place.  We are impressed with these hats and the level of difficulty and dedication found– you make us so proud!

These hats will keep babies and chemo warriors warm and feel loved!

Thank you for helping us spread hope, love, and warmth!
~Pali

A Win-Win for Wendy and Us

A new friend, Wendy in Utah sends us these adorable hats and booties for babies.

Wendy’s note reads:

Please find enclosed a number of hats and a pair of baby booties.  The hats are of various sizes.  I am glad to have found your site where I can send donations.  I have some new yarn, and left over yarn and wanted it to be put to good use, and to make good use of the spare time I have.  My home is pet-free and smoke-free.  I have taught myself to knit and find it therapeutic with stress relief as well, so it’s a win-win thing going on here.  I love seeing all the various projects you post on Facebook and I thought, “Finall, now I know where to send my work!”

We are so glad you found us and sent us your creations! Thank you for helping us spread hope and love into the world.

Thank you!
~Pali

 

Cricket’s Blessings

Our good friend, Cricket from New Jersey sent us 30 hats.

Cricket also sent a note that reads:

Thank you for all you do.  I have chemo hats in this box.  God bless everyone that wears them!

Thank you for your steadfast generosity!
~Pali

15 Hats from Colorado

Stella from Aurora, Colorado sent us these adorable hats.

We will definitely include these in our delivery that we are currently preparing for this month.

We appreciate Stella’s generosity, charitable heart, and support!

Thank you for helping us spread love and hope!
~Pali

2020 Blanket Challenge Details

For 2020, Our Challenge: 200 blankets donated to babies and chemo warriors

We have been asked some questions about this Blanket Drive.

We are accepting all sizes (from baby lovies to adult large throws), loom knitted, crocheted, sewn and/or fleece blankets.  The criteria for yarn, fleece or material remains the same

• Must be new, never worn or used
• Should be washable
• Smoke-free & pet hair-free
• Soft yarn is best- cotton acrylic, silk, fleece or a blend.
• Wool/alpaca is acceptable, though is known to be scratchy.  If using wool or alpaca, please label the item- to warn those that are allergic
• Please wash your hands on a regular basis while making the items.
• Items do not need to be laundered if they are kept clean.  If you feel an item has to be washed before donating it, please use a hypoallergenic detergent and rinse very well.

If you follow us on Pinterest, we created a new board for this 2020 challenge to spark inspiration and provide some helpful tips.

As many of you know, we started Knitting Rays of Hope with loom knitting hats and then started dabbling into crochet with the help of Youtube and Pinterest.

I crocheted my first blanket a few months ago for a friend’s baby and enjoyed the process of it.  I used a shell stitch and found it easy enough to crochet it while watching tv.  If your talents are quilting or knitting, please feel free to make blankets that will suit your talents.

I found a chart for blanket sizes from Craft-Mart.com that will hopefully help provide some guidance.

While searching for ideas, I found All Free Crochet had an article for over 25 blanket patterns for beginners here.  And I may just try this blanket, as one of our friends, T. Stella Bernard suggested a baby afghan made up of individual squares that are sewn together.  I hope that this will be easy to just crochet squares and then put them together.  Wish me luck!

We thank you for trying to learn new things like making blankets to help us spread hope.

Thank you!
~Pali