It’s no secret that I dislike the holidays. The rampant commercialism and focus on all things selfish are enough to drive me bonkers year after year. On the flip side, my passionate dislike of the most-wonderful-time-of-the-year is enough to drive my holiday-loving friends equally bonkers, so I do my best to keep my opinions at bay and find ways to channel my feelings somewhere useful. This is usually where distracting crafts come into play.

I recently heard about an organization called Project Linus through a JoAnn Fabrics Facebook post about “Craft for a Cause,” a campaign that draws attention to charities that benefit from – you guessed it – crafts! What a cool concept to stumble upon just when the holiday craziness is about to take over my life.

Being a huge fan of my own blankie, I was immediately captivated by the Project Linus mission statement: “To provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer ‘blanketeers.'”

The organization accepts all sorts of donations and even devotes a section of their site to patterns and resources for sewers, knitters, crocheters and non-sewers (no-sew fleece blankets, anyone?).

I started thinking about sewing for charities. After a little research, here’s a small sampling of many inspirational organizations seeking crafters:

• ConKerr Cancer – A Case for Smiles: Follow a simple pattern to create fun pillowcases for children’s hospital rooms. Fun and cheery fabrics unite!
• The Preemie Project: Create handmade items for premature babies in hospitals who are too small for standard size clothing. Most notable on the site are the fleece “blanket sleepers,” which are  sent home with preemie parents in an effort to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
• Drawstring bags for troops: Create simple drawstring bags for soldiers to carry their toiletries and small personal belongings, or share with children.

Pretty amazing! I can’t wait to try some of the projects listed above.

What other crafty, charitable opportunities are out there?