Hands2Help 2016 - It's Signup Time!!! (PS There's a Giveaway...)

"What does love look like?

It has the hands to help others.

It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy.

It has eyes to see misery and want.

It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.

That is what love looks like."

Hi, all!

Things are all falling into place for this year's Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge!  I'm so excited to get this started!

2016 represents the sixth year of the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge!  It’s been an amazing five years...

2011:  47 quilters made 60 quilts

2012:  55 quilters made 94 quilts

2013:  65 quilters made 127 quilts

2014:  70 quilters made 145 quilts
2015:  67 quilters made 147 quilts

I can’t wait to see what the sixth year of the Challenge has in store - so let’s begin!

This year we have three great charities to choose from - two in the U.S. and one for our Canadian friends!  You will be signing up to make a quilt or quilts for any or all of these three charitable causes.

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Option #1 - Covered In Love

Covered In Love was started by Kat Drinkwater, an RN at 
East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, Texas.  This group provides comfort quilts to the families of patients who pass away in the hospital.  Quilts warm up a hospital room and give the family something to focus on, as well as something to take home with them when they must leave their loved one behind.

She needs quilts in color schemes appropriate for adults (especially gender neutral/male friendly colors) that measure at least 45" x 60" but preferably about 54" x 70", a good couch/throw quilt.  They need to be washable.  She will apply a Covered In Love label to each one and wash it when it arrives.  If you make a quilt for Covered In Love, you may also attach any label you like, remembering that the quilts will end up with a grieving family.

Option #2 - Happy Chemo!

Once again, we will be helping out with this ongoing project of Emily of Em's Scrapbag.  You can choose to make quilts for Happy Chemo, an organization that provides quilts and comfort for chemo patients.  They also collect up and provide information about freebies and discounts that may be of use to chemo patients.  Emily has been championing this cause for a while, and has set a goal of providing 1500 quilts to Happy Chemo.  She’s already donated more than 600 quilts, and I’d like to see her numbers grow!  She has generously agreed to be part of this challenge, and is excited to see what comes of it.  Here's what Emily has to say about Happy Chemo...

"The first time I met Ginger Johnston, founder of Happy Chemo, it was my first visit to a chemo lab.  I was scared and unsure of what the future held for me.  In walked Ginger, bald and boobless but determined to bring a little sunshine into the chemo lab.  So before she started her treatment she took everyone’s name and drew prizes.  It so changed my experience that I knew I needed to help her in her quest.  I started making quilts for her to give.  Because I can’t sew as fast as cancer strikes I started asking for help.  I just want to bring a little comfort and joy to those who are facing the fear and uncertainty that trips to the chemo lab bring. “

Quilts made for this project will be sent to Emily to help her meet her goal of 1500 quilts donated to Happy Chemo!

She is in need of quilts 45” square to 60” x 72”.  Any style of quilt is accepted as cancer affects men and women, children and adults.

And now, for our Canadian friends...

Option #3

Yukon Women's Transition Home

“I would like to see people treasure and take care of each other for no other reason than that we all matter.  I also believe that change begins at home.  There is so much need in the world, and it is easy to feel helpless to do anything about it.  But there is something that we can do!  One small act of kindness can show someone else that they matter.”

Nita Collins, who blogs at Nita Dances, works to be a living example of what Mahatma Gandhi meant when he said: Be the change you want to see in the world.  In her effort to discover ways that she could be the change, she started a personal quilting project called Because You Matter, which was one of our charities last year.  This year, she is collecting quilts for the Yukon Women's Transition Home in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.  The quilts will be distributed to women's safe houses in several of the Yukon's small, isolated Northern communities.  The Yukon Women's Transition Home has recently opened a new 10-unit second stage transition housing complex. It will be a wonderful gift to provide quilts to the women and their children who are escaping abuse and starting over in a new life, making use of the services provided by the organization.  Click here if you'd like to read more about the organization.

She is in need of lap quilts for women, and also lap quilts for both boys and girls.  She is located in Canada, which will give our Canadian quilters a local place they can donate to!  Step up, all you Canadians! (Of course, she'll gladly take quilts from the Americans, too, if you want to ship one to her!)

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With three charities to choose from this year, you can make a wide variety of sizes and styles of quilts - something for everyone!! And if you're torn between the three charities, feel free to make more than one quilt!  Just think how many wonderful designs you can try.... ;-)

And this year, to allow more international participants, if you live outside North America and want to participate, you can send your quilt top and back to me and I will quilt it for you, to save you from having to pay huge international postage to ship a finished quilt.  Or in the alternative, you can choose a local charitable cause to give your quilt to.  So come on and join in, all you Aussies, Brits, and Kiwis!  And anyone else who wants to join in!  

Here's the calendar for this year's Hands2Help Challenge:

Initial signups will be Sunday March 13th through Saturday, March 19th.  You will receive one entry for signing up, and can get additional entries for putting the button on your blog sidebar, and/or posting about the challenge to encourage others to join in!  (You can sign up after this time, but this is the period to sign up to be part of the signup giveaway.)

The following Sunday, March 20th, we'll announce the winners of the signup giveaway.  

On Sunday, March 27th, there will be a linky party where you can post links to your favorite on-line tutorials!  It could be a tutorial for a quilt pattern, or a technique like machine binding, or even a recipe for your favorite "while-I'm-quilting" snack or crock-pot meal!  You don't have to write the tutorial, you can link up to another blogger's tutorial.  If you love it, someone else might too!

Sunday, April 3rd, you'll Meet The Sponsors!  So many generous people have stepped up to provide giveaways for all of you fabulous H2Hers, and I'm sure you'll want to see who they all are - and maybe even do a little shopping for the challenge with them!

And then there's the guest bloggers!  You will definitely want to be here on April 10th, April 17th, April 25th, May 1st, May 8th, and May 15th as we get to peek into the creative lives of some of our fellow H2Hers!  

There will also be check-in dates like last year, when you can link up and show your progress....  April 17th and May 15th.

Quilts should be completed by the week beginning Sunday, May 22nd.  There will be a linky party (May 22nd through May 29th) to link your finished quilt(s) and show it off, and giveaways for people who link up their quilts.  We've got some great sponsors this year!  Winners will be announced on May 29th.

Quilts should be mailed to the appropriate place by Friday, June 3rd.

Whew!  That's a lot of information to digest - but the important thing to remember is that signups start March 13th!   You can also help promote the Challenge by posting the Challenge button on your blog and/or doing a blogpost about the Challenge!  (These will gain you extra entries into the giveaway - just leave me a link to your blog and/or blogpost in the comments below!)

And did I mention a GIVEAWAY?  Yes, I did!!  My lovely friend Shannon over at Fabrics N Quilts is offering up a kit for this adorable quilt...

... to one lucky early-adopter - so if you sign up before Saturday 3/19 at 6 pm CST, your name will be thrown in the hat!  I'm lucky that Shannon is (nearly) local to me - she has a beautiful little shop in Jamestown, TN, plus she does several trade shows - she will be in Pigeon Forge, TN March 15-19 and at the AQS Paducah show April 20-23.  If you see her there, say hello for me!  She also designs patterns for Quilting Treasures, and there are several free pattern downloads on her website - if you need a place to get started on your H2H quilt, check them out!!  The winner will be announced next Sunday, March 20th.

Woohoo!!  Let's get started!!  Please fill in the form below to be officially signed up, and I'd love for you to leave a comment, too (just because it makes me happy!) And please bear with me if anything goes awry with the entry form - this is something new I'm trying this year and I hope it works - it will make my life a whole lot easier!!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - if you've commented on any of the H2H posts and you haven't heard back from me, you are probably a "no-reply" blogger!  **This seems to be a bigger problem this year than ever - I don't know if it's changes made by Google or Blogger, but something's going on. ** Check here for instructions on how to correct this problem, or leave your e-mail address in your comment so that I can reach you!  If you don't feel comfortable leaving your e-mail address out in public, you can e-mail me directly at salliesue57(at)gmail(dot)com.

FYI - Much of the information contained in this post is always available if you click on the "Hands2Help" page link just under the header photo at the top of the blog.  All the important stuff, like the calendar and the suggested sizes and names of the charities.  Addresses for mailing your quilts will be provided via email upon request.