And the Clean Kit was born
This project eased itself into my life, like a cat creeping onto one's lap. Suddenly it is just there. As best I can tell, it first started in 2012 with my interest in knitting out growing my immediate skills. I wanted to expand my stitch library, and I thought knitting swatches was a waste of yarn and time. I wanted to knit something useful. A 3x3 inch square (about the right size for a face cloth) might just do the trick. So I began.
Then CBC stepped in. They were calling for donations for their annual drive to support the Shepherds of Good Hope. I thought I could help. I paired the face clothes with soap, tooth brushes and tooth paste and sent The Spice off to do the drop-off. Then the call from a radio producer followed, asking me why I did it.
I'm not sure. I'm still not sure. I know that I came up with a reasonable answer that satisfied the moment.
My Mom stepped in. She asked for some to go to St. Joe's. And then, in September, while brain storming activities for the Ottawa 9th Sparks & Brownies group, of which I was a leader, we came up with an opportunity to adopt Senior Friends from Ottawa West Community Support. The Sparks & Brownies had a special guest come in and introduce the centre and we started a pen pal program for the year and we made Clean Kits for the seniors.
Then, with the change of seasons, things went dormant. Over the summer, many of my volunteer activities had come to a transition point where I retired from some of my positions.
In September 2013, I contacted Parkdale Food Centre to ask if they might be willing to be a distribution point for the Clean Kits. I met with their director, and started to volunteer there too. The enthusiasm and vision and leadership stoked my desires to do more. I began outreach, starting with my kid's dentist, then mine. I was received well. The project was a go. I started off with a goal to release 100 kits. Then things really got rolling. The Hintonburg Elf stepped in with a donation, then I got support from others to whom I mentioned the project. Then The Elf stepped in again, just when I thought it was coming to a natural end ... and then it expanded. And there was the article in Kitchissippi Times, which prompted Suzanne and Helen to contact me.
March 2015 update
I have explained the project on a number of occasions, that each face cloth is different because the intended recipients are individuals and should be recognized for him or herself. That's right, no face cloth is the same in pattern, or in shape, or in colour. Each is unique. Notes of affirmation are included with every face cloth. They read:
This was made especially for you.
Acts of kindness need not be random.
I care.
You are loved.
Clean Kits are distributed throughout the Ottawa community. Parkdale Food Centre, HighJinx Ottawa and Centre 454 are mainstays of distribution, with Cornerstone Emergency Housing for Women, Youth Services Bureau, The Food Centre at Carleton University and St Joe's Women's Centre also on high distribution rotation. My goal to to get these small relief packages onto the shelves of front line organizations so that they can distribute to their clients.
At the close of 2014 the Clean Kit project has distributed over 1000 hand made face clothes since its humble beginnings in December 2012. While most of face clothes are made by me, a few dozen are knitted up by those who hear of the project. All of the packaging and assembly home-based. Each package is made up with the greatest of care for each of its recipients.
2014, was the biggest year for distribution with 780 kits being created and distributed. That's a lot of hygiene products. You wouldn't know though. Clean Kits is run on no budget and out of a couple of Rubbermaid tubs. For kit content, I have canvased dentists for tooth brushes, paste and floss, and a local soap and skin care product maker for seconds of their soap to add to the kits. When people ask me about my current knitting projects, I mentions this project and ask that if they happen to have any hotel products from travels, I would happily re-home them. Shampoo, conditioner and lotions make the kits “extra juicy”.
Here are some interesting statistics:
5 – the number of dollars it takes to purchase the entire contents of a CleanKit (if carefully budgeted)
yarn for face cloth
soap
tooth brush
tooth paste
paper bag
affirmation note
90 – the average number of minutes it takes to knit one face cloth
780 – the number of Clean Kits delivered in 2014
250 – the number of Clean Kits delivered in 2013
50 – the number of Clean Kits delivered in 2012
775 – the goal for 2015 (though hoping for a stretch goal of an even 1k)
1 – the number of ounces of cotton yarn per face cloth
2.15 – the average number of face clothes that need to be made per day to meet the 2015 goal
2 – average number of metres of yarn used per cloth
The ask letter
If you are here, you're interested in helping broaden what can be done for the community on the ground level. I have created two ask letter templates. Just drop me a note and we can discuss the opportunity.
Bigger is not better
I've been approached by several well-intentioned people, providing suggestions to get more knitters, or places to approach for more supports, to make the project bigger. I have explored these options. This project certainly is a prototype for scalability and I would encourage any one who wants to start their own project like this to do it. (Great project for Guides and Scouts, or knitting/crochet groups.)
I'm a program of one. I'm just one person who sees the mutual need in the community and that I can do a value-add to support agencies supporting others who may need that helping hand in the moment. Being small makes the project agile. I can generate greater or fewer face clothes based on the product and budget I have to support it and the audiences' needs. More so, it doesn't take any energy, attention or resources away from the agencies it serves. I hope to tap into different resources, and engage other parts of the community who may not realize they have hotel soaps, or extra tooth brushes they could share.
The other point is that if this project gets better, it becomes a job, and that kind of kills the love that gets knitted into each face cloth. I don't want this project to lose that. It's the fuel of this project.
Then CBC stepped in. They were calling for donations for their annual drive to support the Shepherds of Good Hope. I thought I could help. I paired the face clothes with soap, tooth brushes and tooth paste and sent The Spice off to do the drop-off. Then the call from a radio producer followed, asking me why I did it.
I'm not sure. I'm still not sure. I know that I came up with a reasonable answer that satisfied the moment.
My Mom stepped in. She asked for some to go to St. Joe's. And then, in September, while brain storming activities for the Ottawa 9th Sparks & Brownies group, of which I was a leader, we came up with an opportunity to adopt Senior Friends from Ottawa West Community Support. The Sparks & Brownies had a special guest come in and introduce the centre and we started a pen pal program for the year and we made Clean Kits for the seniors.
Then, with the change of seasons, things went dormant. Over the summer, many of my volunteer activities had come to a transition point where I retired from some of my positions.
In September 2013, I contacted Parkdale Food Centre to ask if they might be willing to be a distribution point for the Clean Kits. I met with their director, and started to volunteer there too. The enthusiasm and vision and leadership stoked my desires to do more. I began outreach, starting with my kid's dentist, then mine. I was received well. The project was a go. I started off with a goal to release 100 kits. Then things really got rolling. The Hintonburg Elf stepped in with a donation, then I got support from others to whom I mentioned the project. Then The Elf stepped in again, just when I thought it was coming to a natural end ... and then it expanded. And there was the article in Kitchissippi Times, which prompted Suzanne and Helen to contact me.
March 2015 update
I have explained the project on a number of occasions, that each face cloth is different because the intended recipients are individuals and should be recognized for him or herself. That's right, no face cloth is the same in pattern, or in shape, or in colour. Each is unique. Notes of affirmation are included with every face cloth. They read:
This was made especially for you.
Acts of kindness need not be random.
I care.
You are loved.
Clean Kits are distributed throughout the Ottawa community. Parkdale Food Centre, HighJinx Ottawa and Centre 454 are mainstays of distribution, with Cornerstone Emergency Housing for Women, Youth Services Bureau, The Food Centre at Carleton University and St Joe's Women's Centre also on high distribution rotation. My goal to to get these small relief packages onto the shelves of front line organizations so that they can distribute to their clients.
At the close of 2014 the Clean Kit project has distributed over 1000 hand made face clothes since its humble beginnings in December 2012. While most of face clothes are made by me, a few dozen are knitted up by those who hear of the project. All of the packaging and assembly home-based. Each package is made up with the greatest of care for each of its recipients.
2014, was the biggest year for distribution with 780 kits being created and distributed. That's a lot of hygiene products. You wouldn't know though. Clean Kits is run on no budget and out of a couple of Rubbermaid tubs. For kit content, I have canvased dentists for tooth brushes, paste and floss, and a local soap and skin care product maker for seconds of their soap to add to the kits. When people ask me about my current knitting projects, I mentions this project and ask that if they happen to have any hotel products from travels, I would happily re-home them. Shampoo, conditioner and lotions make the kits “extra juicy”.
Here are some interesting statistics:
5 – the number of dollars it takes to purchase the entire contents of a CleanKit (if carefully budgeted)
yarn for face cloth
soap
tooth brush
tooth paste
paper bag
affirmation note
90 – the average number of minutes it takes to knit one face cloth
780 – the number of Clean Kits delivered in 2014
250 – the number of Clean Kits delivered in 2013
50 – the number of Clean Kits delivered in 2012
775 – the goal for 2015 (though hoping for a stretch goal of an even 1k)
1 – the number of ounces of cotton yarn per face cloth
2.15 – the average number of face clothes that need to be made per day to meet the 2015 goal
2 – average number of metres of yarn used per cloth
The ask letter
If you are here, you're interested in helping broaden what can be done for the community on the ground level. I have created two ask letter templates. Just drop me a note and we can discuss the opportunity.
Bigger is not better
I've been approached by several well-intentioned people, providing suggestions to get more knitters, or places to approach for more supports, to make the project bigger. I have explored these options. This project certainly is a prototype for scalability and I would encourage any one who wants to start their own project like this to do it. (Great project for Guides and Scouts, or knitting/crochet groups.)
I'm a program of one. I'm just one person who sees the mutual need in the community and that I can do a value-add to support agencies supporting others who may need that helping hand in the moment. Being small makes the project agile. I can generate greater or fewer face clothes based on the product and budget I have to support it and the audiences' needs. More so, it doesn't take any energy, attention or resources away from the agencies it serves. I hope to tap into different resources, and engage other parts of the community who may not realize they have hotel soaps, or extra tooth brushes they could share.
The other point is that if this project gets better, it becomes a job, and that kind of kills the love that gets knitted into each face cloth. I don't want this project to lose that. It's the fuel of this project.