WELCOME and HAPPY NEW YEAR

With all of the special activities associated with our Fifth Anniversary from August through October and all of the Challenges going on at the same time, there didn't seem to be enough time to keep the blog updated as it should have been.  I am working on getting everything here updated with all of the Challenges we have completed (and there have been LOTS of them, including Helping Hands and Cozies for Pets challenges) in the last several months!

The current challenge for a repeat shelter in Alaska has just been completed and we will be posting another new challenge before too long and it will be posted here on the blog, too.  While our Challenges are posted and most of the pledges are received through our Facebook page, you can always make a pledge through the blog by posting it as a comment in the Challenge post and we will receive it.  Same with any questions you may have.

I apologize for our blog being out of date for a little while and hope to be back up to speed very shortly!

Rachel and I would like to welcome all of our new members who have joined the Pink Slipper Project recently and we wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR in 2015!!

JUDY

IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME AGAIN!

Our Fifth Anniversary Month continues with our SECOND GIVEAWAY.  Entries for this giveaway are being accepted ONLY on our Facebook page.

Please check out our Facebook page at the following link for the rules for entering this giveaway:    https://www.facebook.com/ThePinkSlipperProject

WEEK TWO - 5th ANNIVERSARY MONTH

Our history and story of the first five years of The Pink Slipper Project continues.

In 2010, I joined AC4C (All Crafts 4 Charity) on Yahoo. The "List Mom" of AC4C prepares an annual calendar with one or two charities listed per month. I contacted her and asked if The Pink Slipper Project could be on the 2011 calendar. PSP was added and, in the spirit of AC4C, their members responded with over 400 pairs of slippers (PSP wasn't doing washcloths then). Everything was sent to Joyce and she sent them to shelters. Once each year since then, the members of AC4C have sent hundreds of pairs of slippers to us. There have been many shelters that received not only slippers, but everything that AC4C sent us, including hats, toys, baby hats, baby sweaters, scarves, and baby blankets.

Several weeks ago, I took a trunk load of AC4C goodies to a shelter near me. They were delighted with what I had brought and wanted everything! During the last few years, we also received washcloths and lots of soap. I still have a great many slippers, washcloths, hats and baby clothes that will be distributed in the next few months.

On August 18, 2011, PSP celebrated its’ 2nd birthday and, by September, had 2,300 friends. It was during 2011 that Joyce had her first spinal surgery. The Pink Slipper Project Signature Knit Slipper was published in 2010.

Revisiting the 2011 Facebook posts has been like a trip down memory lane. Joyce loved to put up pictures of all the slippers that arrived in her studio. I’ve seen the pictures and read the names of so many people. There are members who joined early and are still participating in our challenges or are still following our journey.

Joyce posted a lot of challenges during 2011. She “visited” Iowa, held a local Stitch-A-Thon with a group in New Orleans, “visited” the Hope Coalition in Red Wing, MN, and, in conjunction with the Compassion Fashion Project, warmed toes and hearts in seven shelters in Arkansas with our slippers!

In February, 2011, Joyce posted her “Hospital Doll”. The pattern for the cloth doll is here on the blog.  The Pink Slipper Signature Crochet Slipper designed by Judy Warehime was published in March, 2011.

In April of that year, the “Knit Teddy Bear”, designed by our friend, Carol Levesque, made its debut. Carol’s teddy has warmed so many hearts and made many friends as they were distributed to the children in our shelters. Carol has given this pattern to Pink Slipper and it is also listed on our blog.

You will notice that from time to time I refer to the shelters that have received slippers from us as “our shelters”. We send our love and, I believe, a piece of ourselves via our handmade slippers and washcloths…..and so, we call the shelters “ours”.

Next Monday, the story continues. Stay tuned.

Rachel

GIVEAWAY - WEEK ONE - UPDATE - NEW WINNER!

****IT'S OFFICIAL......WE HAVE A WINNER THIS TIME!****

The deadline passed and the winner for the first giveaway of Anniversary Month did not contact us.   Therefore, we had to pick a new winner.

OUR NEW WINNER OF THE 1ST FIFTH ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY IS:  PEGGY GROW

Peggy contacted us right away and her prize will be on its way to her on Tuesday.

CONGRATULATIONS, PEGGY! 

Information on our next giveaway will be posted on our Facebook page (only) on Monday, August 11, 2014.  Hope you will come join in!

.AND THE WINNER IS...........

The first 5th Anniversary Giveaway is now officially CLOSED and 

(drum roll, please....)
THE WINNER IS..........NANCY BERG

CONGRATULATIONS, NANCY! You have until 6:00 PM (EST) on Saturday, August 9, 2014, to contact us by Facebook message or by email at thepinkslipperproject@gmail.com.  We will need your mailing address in order to ship out your goodies!

The next giveaway in our Anniversary Celebration will be listed the beginning of next week.......so please check back in often!

Rachel and Judy

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! Rachel is taking a much-needed day off to enjoy with her family and will be back on tomorrow. In the meantime, I have two reminders:

(1) The deadline for entering our first 5th Anniversary Giveaway is 10:00 PM (EST) TONIGHT (August 7, 2014). Check out our post and picture below for all of the goodies included. Remember, you can now enter by sending us a Facebook Message with the words, "GIVEAWAY WEEK ONE" and include your email address or by signing into the Guest Book here on the blog with the same information!

(2) Current Challenge for the Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services shelter - We still need pledges for the following:

  3 preteen boys   (UPDATE:  ALL SLIPPERS & WASHCLOTHS HAVE BEEN PLEDGED!)

The mailing deadline for this challenge is September 3rd, I hope you will consider making a pledge now if you already haven't done so. Please put your pledge in a comment box in the post with the challenge information. Thanks!! 

Judy

**** NEW CHALLENGE ****

CHRISTINE ANN DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES
Oshkosh, Wisconsin   (Updated @ 4:32 pm, 8/7/14)

   ***** CHALLENGE IS NOW COMPLETED ****

The Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services originally opened in 1984 with 13 beds.  By 1991 they moved to their current location and dedicated the 35 bed shelter in memory of Christine Ann Clark who had been murdered by her husband while her baby slept just yards away.

Through their emergency Help Line, they have responded to 11,000 emergency calls and requests for information. The Christine Ann Center now serves Winnebago and Green Lake Counties in Wisconsin.

For Christine Ann Center we will need:

38 women   -   DONE!

 5 teen girls   -   DONE!

 2 teen boys   -   DONE!

 5 preteen girls   -   DONE!

 5 preteen boys   -   DONE!

 5 youth girls   -   DONE!

 5 youth boys   -   DONE!

 5 toddler girls   -  DONE!

 5 toddler boys   -   DONE!

 5 infants – gender neutral colors  -  DONE!

80 washcloths  -  DONE!


MAILING DEADLINE:   SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

 MAIL TO:

Jeanne Klawitter
1416 South Commercial Street
Neenah, WI  54956

 We will have a Happy Hands Challenge for Christine Ann Center when all slippers and
 washcloths are fully pledged.

As always, this Challenge is being run on our Facebook page as well.  Numbers still needed will be updated here as quickly as possible.   If you wish to take part in this challenge, please put your pledge in a comment below and we will receive it.    Thank you.   WHEN A CATEGORY HAS BEEN FULLY PLEDGED, IT WILL BE MARKED "DONE".

WE'RE CELEBRATING - IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

Now that Rachel has told you about our founder, Joyce Lucas, and the beginnings of The Pink Slipper Project, it is time to kick off our Fifth Anniversary Month with our FIRST GIVEAWAY!

As you can see in the picture, our first giveaway package is a Large Breast Cancer Awareness insulated tote full of all kinds of goodies that we hope the winner will enjoy! It contains another small tote (perfect for small takealong projects), two skeins of Red Heart With Love yarn, 2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft yarn, 3 skeins of Sugar‘n Cream cotton yarn, one pair of Susan Bates Size 8 knitting needles, two Susan Bates Lucite crochet hooks (not pictured), a Chibi (case with metal yarn needles), a pair of Ardennes small embroidery scissors (perfect for carrying in your purse), three magnetic note pads, a small notebook, a roll of ribbon (4 patterns), and a tube of “Wild Jasmine” hand lotion…with an approximate total retail value of more than $50.

Now for the little nitty-gritty details on how to enter to win this bag of goodies!

For this week’s giveaway, you will need to sign our Guest Book (top right corner) here on the blog. You will need to enter your name, your email address, and in the Comment area, type “GIVEAWAY WEEK ONE”. Easy peasy. (Your email addresses will not be given out to anyone else or sold.)

You will have until 11:59 pm (EST) on Wednesday, August 6, 2014, to enter this giveaway. We will draw a winner on Thursday morning (8/7) and announce the winner both here and on our blog. We will also send an email to the winner (so be sure to check your Junk mail folder just in case). The winner will have until 5:00 pm (EST) on Saturday, August 9, 2014, to contact us or another winner will be drawn.

 GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE! 
 Rachel and Judy

CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS!

As part of our 5th Anniversary celebration, each Monday there will be an ongoing journey from August 18, 2009 to Today. You'll learn more about the history of the past 5 years. As we've made a journey to many states around the country as we 'visited' shelters, you'll make the journey with us starting right now. 

 THE HISTORY OF THE PINK SLIPPER PROJECT

 Week 1 – Monday, August 4:

 During the entire month of August, the Pink Slipper Project will be celebrating its 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY with a little bit of history each week, new challenges, and weekly giveaways. 

Joyce Lucas, Founder

 The Pink Slipper Project was founded on August 18, 2009, by Joyce Lucas of Virginia. She was inspired by Terry Grahl of Enchanted Makeovers, who was using her generous spirit and talents as an interior designer to perform makeovers at domestic abuse/homeless shelters for women and children. With the help of volunteers from all across the country, these shelters were madeover to feel more like “home” with many handmade personal touches. If you are not familiar with Enchanted Makeovers, we hope that you will check out the website to see pictures of some of her “transformations”.

At the time of forming the PSP, Joyce had her own online web businesses. She was both a Web designer, creating website designs for women’s online businesses, and running an online shopping site where women could list their shops (in a very “pink” environment) and have their businesses marketed to the public with special sales, etc. 

 At the start of PSP, many of Joyce’s clients joined in on this new venture. On August 24, 2009, Joyce published her pattern for the “Signature Sewn Pink Slipper” and she was off and running! If you look in the Photos section, you will see many pictures of slippers made using her pattern.

 Within one week of starting PSP, there had been a request from Newhouse Shelter in Missouri and 125 pairs of wonderful handmade slippers came pouring into Joyce’s office to be unpacked, photographed, individually bagged and tagged, and shipped off to the shelter! What a wonderful beginning! As Joyce had a challenge for Newhouse on August 24, 2009, we will again have a challenge for them on August 24, 2014. 

 Within one month on Facebook, the Pink Slipper Project had 500 friends.

 In August, 2010, the Pink Slipper Project was featured in The Weekly Newsletter published by the Lion Brand Yarn Company. This was quite a compliment for the then-year-old PSP. The e-newsletter was sent out in the late afternoon. Joyce and I (Rachel) were at our computers waiting for visitors to arrive….and arrive they did by the thousands. There was a steady stream of visitors from late afternoon and on into the evening as the e-newsletter was received across several time zones and around the world. Joyce and I greeted every person who liked the PSP for hours. By 1 a.m., things had slowed down and I went to bed; Joyce later told me that she was up until 3 a.m.

 By August 14, 2010, the PSP had 1,800 friends, a gain of about 250 from the publicity received through the Lion Brand newsletter. We were just one year old and had already received national attention by a major yarn company!

 There will be more of our history coming in the next few weeks. We hope that you will enjoy hearing about our beginnings and where we are now. We have more new challenges coming up this month, including a few “specials”, and a GIVEAWAY each week ….. so we hope that you will stay tuned and join in on all of the activities we have planned!

Congratulations, Terry Grahl, of Enchanted Makeovers!
http://hopeforwomenmag.com/featured/women-who-inspire/terry-grahl-decorating-homes-into-transformative-terraces

"HAPPY HANDS #1 - Monika's House

     We will be sending "Happy Hands" gifts to Monika's House.  They will receive not only our slippers and our Cozies for Pets, but also, these items will give them "Happy Hands". 

     Happy Hands will work this way.  There are items that Monika's House would like but not in huge amounts.  If you would like to help out, please make a pledge.  Then, as we do with slippers, when we reach the stated amount, we'll be done.  You may send used knitting needles.  If you send plastic ones, please do not send those that are bent and bowed.  Plastic needles tend to bow if they are heavily used.  Preferences for sizes will be 7, 8, 9, 10, 10-1/2, and 11.  

For Happy Hands #1 @ Monika's House - we would like the following:

  8  skeins of yarn.  Worsted or bulky preferred.  No partial skeins or balls.  -  DONE!

  8 knitting looms of various sizes.  Make sure the instructions are included.  -  DONE!

  8  knitting needles 8", 10".  Single or double point.  Circulars are fine too.  Please do       not send 14" needles.  -  DONE!

15 crochet hooks of various sizes.  Preferred sizes G, H, I, J, K.   -  DONE!

12 prs. of scissors.  I've found children's blunt tipped scissors are sharp enough for          yarn and then the children can use them too.  -  DONE!

15 Gift Cards from Joann's would make a truly wonderful gift for the shelters.  Then        they could buy crafts supplies they need.  Joann's was chosen as there is one              where the shelter is located.  Joann's gift cards are available at many of the gift          card kiosks at Walmart, supermarkets, etc. or online.

         Share your joy of knitting and crocheting by sending the women at Monika's House a gift that will keep on giving.  Pass It On!  

Mailing Deadline:  August  15, 2014.

Send to:

Valerie Bundy
Director of Shelter Services
P.O. Box 91550
Portland, Oregon 97291

*** SPECIAL #2 *** 

    A week or so ago, Judy posted a question to all of our members on Facebook about what your craft (sewing, knitting, crocheting) meant to you.  What does it do for YOU?  We received many responses, but there was a main theme running through all of them......"relaxation", "stress reliever", "adds joy to my cup", "inner peace", "warm fuzzies", "creative outlet", "feeling of accomplishment". 

     "When I made prayer afghans, each stitch resembled a prayer, so I am using mine now in the same way for myself and my family." - Linda Darby Adams

     "I may not be able to solve world hunger, cure cancer, give every child, every homeless person, every battered woman a home, a meal, a hug, but I sure can make a pair of slippers!  Or a wash cloth, a scarf, a hat, a blanket.  And that one person who receives something I stitched will know at least for a little while someone was thinking about them.  Someone was thinking OF them.  Someone cares." - Karen Baisley

     A common thread - making something with our hands for someone else helps US almost as much as we hope that it will bring joy to the other person.  It brings us an inner peace.

     In that light, The Pink Slipper Project is adding another new "special" project for the DV shelters that we reach out to.....the "Happy Hands" Project.   Many shelters are adding sewing rooms, having a group activity for knitters/crocheters, knitting/crocheting classes at their shelters for the women and children, etc.  Many times their "wish lists" include supplies, such as, yarn (new), knitting needles, crochet hooks, and knitting looms.   These programs give the women and children a chance to learn a new and useful "hobby" to help them relax and be productive, too!   By helping to provide supplies to them, we, in turn, will have the wonderful opportunity to "PASS IT ON" to someone else.  As they learn and create, hopefully, they will "pass it on", too, by making items for other women and children coming into the shelters.

     We hope that you will want to join with us in this new endeavor.  As with the "Cozies for Pets", we will not generally be asking for large quantities of the various items and the challenge will only be done in conjunction with a shelter challenge for slippers and/or washcloths.

When the 5th Anniversary Celebration was announced, we said there would be some "special" shelters. One of the "specials" you've already seen with the "Cozies for Pets". Our next "Special" shelter will be coming up tomorrow!! I hope you will be as excited over this one as you have been with Cozies for Pets. 

 I do want to stress that these specials will not be with every shelter we do. I have noticed an increase in the number of shelters that either house pets or make arrangement for housing offsite. This prompted Judy and I to discuss adding special projects from time to time. Judy will handle the Cozies and I'll do the next one. 

 Our next Special is a way for all our members to participate. We have hundreds of friends that haven't taken part in our challenges. This new project will be one in which you can help even from the comfort of your own home. 

 Until tomorrow when our new project "Special" will be unveiled. 

 Rachel

COZIES FOR PETS #2

MONIKA'S HOUSE
 Hillsboro, Oregon

     (CHALLENGE HAS BEEN COMPLETED!)

As Rachel mentioned in the slippers/washcloths challenge, Monika's House is proud to be just one of only five domestic abuse shelters in Oregon which also accepts family pets into their shelter.  Currently, cats and small dogs are allowed to be kept in the shelter, while larger dogs are kenneled outside.   They are currently building their very own Pet Sanctuary where all of the pets will be kept while their owners are at the shelter.   This new Pet Sanctuary will be opening in August.   

For our 2nd Cozies for Pets challenge, we are asking for the following:

     2  -  20" x 20" blankets   -   DONE

     2  -  24" x 24" blankets   -   DONE

     1  -  24" x 30+" blanket   -   DONE

Mailing Deadline:  August 15, 2014

Mailing Address:

Valerie Bundy, Director of Shelter Services
P.O. Box 91550
Portland, OR   97291 

We are done!  With all the wonderful dedicated members we have, the challenges are finished super fast. You all are terrific!  We will be busy this weekend!   Thanks so much for all you do.

*** NEXT NEW SHELTER CHALLENGE ***

MONIKA'S HOUSE
Hillsboro, Oregon

     (Challenge has been completed!)

Monika's House is named in memory of a domestic violence victim, Monika Voits, an Oregon woman who was murdered in her bed by her husband.  Every year they provide safe shelter to more than 200 adults, children and their pets, fleeing from danger of family violence.

Monika's House is proud to be one of only 5 shelters in Oregon providing safe shelter to family pets and companion animals as well.  Therapy and service animals are housed inside.  Their new indoor Pet Sanctuary is currently under construction!  (A challenge for the Pets will be done after the slippers are pledged.)

To quote the Director of Shelter Services:  “This is awesome and very much looking forward to it.”

(For this challenge, please make all teen, preteen, youth, toddler and booties in gender neutral colors.   Thanks.)
  
For Monika's House we will need:

25 women's  -  DONE

  5 booties   -   DONE

10 toddlers   -   DONE

  5 youth   -   DONE

  4 preteen   -   DONE

  1 men's   -   DONE

  2 teen boys   -   DONE

 50 Washcloths   -   DONE



Mailing Deadline:  August 15, 2014

Mailing Address:

Valerie Bundy, Director of Shelter Services
P.O. Box 91550
Portland, OR   97291 

This challenge is also listed on our Facebook page.   If you wish to make a pledge here on the blog, just place your pledge in a comment box in this post and we will receive it.   Numbers of blankets/washcloths still needed will be updated here as well as on the Facebook page.

Our very first "Cozies for Pets" mini-challenge for companion animals at A New Hope Center in Owego, NY, has already been pledged!    Thank you to our wonderful members who stepped up so quickly to this new endeavor.   We are seeing more and more domestic abuse shelters adding a companion animal shelter to their programs.  I am sure we will be posting more "Cozies for Pets" challenges in the very near future.  

"COZIES FOR PETS - #1

A NEW HOPE CENTER, Owego, NY

   *** CHALLENGE COMPLETED ***

     Since this is our first challenge for "Cozies for Pets" at a domestic violence abuse shelter, we are not requesting a large number of blankets.   For now, we are just going to request a few blankets in a couple of sizes.   Blankets can be crocheted, knitted, or sewn.   If sewn and you wish to place batting between layers of material, please sew a few rows of stitching across the length or width of the blanket to secure the batting so it doesn't wad up when washed.
     Just a little information on the Companion Animal Program at A New Hope Center:
     "We offer shelter, respite care, adoption, and other services for companion animals and certain farm animals.
     Animals are beloved members of many families and are often the targets of abuse.  It can be either to intimidate and further taunt a victim, or to suffer additional abuse just because a batterer feels like hurting the animal.
     As a part of our comprehensive services to families struggling with the effects of domestic violence, ANHS feels that this program is critically important and can even make the difference between a battered woman escaping or staying with an abuser rather than leaving a vulnerable animal behind."
     For this very first challenge, we are asking for the following:
     2  -  20" x 20" blankets  -  DONE
     2  -  24" x 24" blankets  -  DONE
     1  -  24" x 30+" blanket  -  DONE

MAILING DEADLINE:    August 13, 2014

MAILING ADDRESS: 
  
     A New Hope Center
     Attn:  Francis Bialy, Executive Director
     20 Church Street
     Owego,  New York   13827

This mini-challenge is also listed on our Facebook page.   If you wish to make a pledge here on the blog, just place your pledge in a comment box in this post and we will receive it.   Numbers of blankets still needed will be updated here as well as on the Facebook page.

**** SPECIAL ****

We recently announced that we had some special things planned for this summer and fall and here comes the first one!!

We are announcing the start of our "COZIES FOR PETS" challenges. Rachel and I have noticed that many of the domestic violence abuse shelters around the country are now starting or have had a "Companion Animal Program". Sometimes the shelter for the pets is at the shelter location and other times offsite with fosters or a local animal shelter. Having this service available often times makes the difference between a battered woman escaping or staying with the abuser rather than leaving a family pet behind to be abused.

We would like to include these family pets in our challenges, too, where there is a pet program available at the shelter, and make Pet Cozies (blankets or beds) to help them adjust to their new surroundings. Pet blankets probably should be about 20"x20", 24"x24" or could be larger for a larger dog. They can be sewn, crocheted, or knitted, or possibly tied fleece. I have some pattern links for pet blankets that I will post later, but you can use any pattern you wish. We will ONLY be doing the pet blankets as a companion project to a shelter challenge if slippers and washcloths have been requested.

Rachel and I hope that you will join with us in this new project.

I will be posting information on our first "Cozies for Pets" challenge later this evening. (Judy)

A NEW HOPE CENTER - Owego, New York

           *** Challenge Completed ***
       (Updated:   7/10/14 @ 10:00 PM)
A New Hope Center is just a small, 7-bed safe home (location is kept
confidential), which gives shelter to around 40 families a
year.   While in the shelter, women are responsible for their
children, making meals, and daily cleaning.

For this shelter challenge, we are going to need the following numbers of
slippers and washcloths:

60   women's/teen girls   -  DONE!
  2   men’s sizes  -  DONE!
  2   teen boys  -  DONE!
  6   preteen girls  -  DONE!
  6   preteen boys  -  DONE!
  9   youth girls  -  DONE!
  9   youth boys  -  DONE!
  8   toddler girls  -  DONE!
  8   toddler boys  -  DONE!
  8   booties -- girls  -  DONE!
  8   booties – boys  -  DONE!
60   washcloths  -  DONE

Deadline for mailing:    August 9, 2014

Mailing Address: 
     A New Hope Center
     Attn:  Francis Bialy, Executive Director
     20 Church Street
     Owego,  New York   13827

Our Challenges are also posted on our Facebook page and that is where we receive most of our pledges. If you would like to make a pledge here on the Blog, please put your pledge in a comment box - number of slippers and/or washcloths and categories (women's, teen boys, teen girls, etc.) and we will receive it. The number of slippers/washcloths still needed will be updated here as often as possible during the Challenge.

Our Facebook page is visible to the public without being a member of Facebook; however, you cannot post pledges there unless you have a Facebook account.

A new Challenge is coming.....

Well, now that the holiday weekend is over (here in the US), everyone is probably back to their normal routines. At the Pink Slipper Project, Rachel has been busy lining up shelters (even though her main computer went down). She is hoping to be "back in business" today. We hope that everyone has had a chance to see our post from Monday announcing the special activities that we have planned for... the next few months and are as excited about them as we are!

Today, it is time to get back to the business of PSP with another shelter challenge. We will be leaving Saginaw, Michigan, and heading to the state of New York for our 24th challenge of 2014. As soon as I have everything written up, I will post the new challenge......probably later this evening or early tomorrow morning! We will be making all sizes of slippers, plus washcloths, for this shelter. So, get ready with your pledges!!        (Judy)

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I hope that everyone has had a great holiday weekend (and a long weekend at
that). Now that we are all settled in for a beautiful summer, Judy and I want to share with you some of the things that are going to be happening at Pink Slipper this summer and into the fall season. This summer is not going to be business as usual. We will continue to have 2 or 3 shelters per month but we are going to be busy, busy around here. Why? The Pink Slipper Project will be celebrating our (hold on, here it comes) FIFTH ANNIVERSARY in August and we intend to celebrate BIG TIME. I've been searching for shelters for several weeks so we will be making slippers. One or more of the shelters will be special. How special? We will have surprises and that is one of them.

We will have the very first post that Joyce Lucas put up announcing The Pink Slipper Project. The very first challenge she did we will do that shelter again on the day she announced the first challenge in 2009. During our birthday month, August, we will have drawings each week. You'll want to check in often for that as you'll never know what might be in the goody bags.

In October we will celebrate National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The
color for NDVAM is PURPLE so be prepared to make purple slippers.

We will end our celebration in October with, well, it's a secret too and everyone
will find out in due time. Come and visit us often for special surprises and just to keep up with what is going on.

HOW WE WORK

When we have a request for slippers, it is called a "Challenge".  Once I've verified with the shelter about numbers and sizes of slippers, I post an introduction to the shelter.

The introduction will include information about the shelter, the number of slippers needed according to size, and the number of washcloths (if requested).   We make ladies/teen girls, teen boys, babies, toddlers (ages 1-4), youth (ages 5-8), preteen (ages 9-12) sizes and washcloths.  Washcloths are usually 7-8” by 7-8”.   Also included is the mailing deadline as well as the mailing address.

In order to send enough slippers for everyone,  pledges are needed.    Please put your pledge in a comments box below.  (Most pledges are received on our Facebook page, but if you make a pledge here, we will receive it.  Numbers needed are updated here as they are received both places.)   All slippers and washcloths are mailed by the maker directly to the shelter and need to be mailed by the date included in the challenge info.

A copy of our size chart for slippers is in the Notes section of our Facebook page as well as in the right column here on the blog.    You can make your slippers in any style or color you wish.   Bulky yarn, worsted weight using 1 strand or two, or 2 strands of sport work the best for the children and adult sizes.

Please make a note of what you pledged, the shelter name/address and the mailing deadline.  A copy of the challenge introduction and those who pledged will be placed in the Notes section (Facebook) and in the "2014 Challenges-Completed" (blog) if you need to verify your pledge or get the address.

Rachel Terrill,  Coordinator

Our 23rd Challenge of 2014 - Completed!

We just completed our 23rd Challenge of 2014!  AMAZING!!!  Our members are just fantastic!  It shows just how giving the crafting community is worldwide. We even had some members from the UK take part in this challenge. How great is that!  We are going to give you a little break to work on your current pledges and, if you are all caught up, well....just keep on crocheting, knitting, and sewing ...and add to your stash for the next one!

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Saginaw, Michigan

                  (UPDATED:   CHALLENGE COMPLETED  -  4/22/14)

     We are all familiar with the underground railroad from our history books as a path to safety and that is why the Underground Railroad shelter was so named.  It is a path to safety for abused women and children.
     In 1976 it became evident that there was a need for an emergency shelter in Saginaw.  The doors to the first shelter opened in Dec., 1977.  It was the first free-standing emergency shelter in the State of Michigan.  In the first 2 years, they housed 750 women and 1300 children.  Today, the Underground Railroad shelter continues to help abused women and children along a pathway to a new life.
     For the Underground Railroad shelter we will need:

          40 women    -    DONE
            2 teen boys  -   DONE
            6 preteen girls   -   DONE
            6 preteen boys   -   DONE
          10 youth girls   -   DONE
          10 youth boys   -    DONE
          10 toddler girls   -   DONE
          10 toddler boys   -   DONE
            8 booties girls   -   DONE
            8 booties boys   -   DONE

        100 washcloths   -   DONE

Mailing deadline: July 21, 2014

Send to:
     Lisa Hall
     Community Development Manager
     Underground Railroad, Inc.
     5647 State Street, Suite A
     Saginaw, Michigan   48603

Our Challenges are also posted on our Facebook page and that is where we receive most of our pledges. If you would like to make a pledge here on the Blog, please put your pledge in a comment box - number of slippers and/or washcloths and categories (women's, teen boys, teen girls, etc.) and we will receive it. The number of slippers/washcloths still needed will be updated here as often as possible during the Challenge.

Our Facebook page is visible to the public without being a member of Facebook; however, you cannot post pledges there unless you have a Facebook account.

It's that time, again! New challenge coming!

Well, it is almost time to move on from Kalispell, Montana, to  ?????   We will be staying in the north but moving to the east!  The new challenge information will be posted later this evening. I hope that many of you who have joined us recently will jump in on this one! See you all later tonight! (Judy)

(Our last challenge for The Abbie Shelter in Kalispell, Montana, was listed on our Facebook page and pledges were received for all of the slippers and washcloths requested before it could be posted here on the blog. The information for the challenge has been posted to the "2014 Challenges - Completed" section.)

JOINT CHALLENGE for SOJOURN SHELTER

Sojourn Shelter and Services, Inc.

Springfield, Illinois

               ***CHALLENGE COMPLETED - 6/7/14***

As mentioned on May 22nd, the Pink Slipper Project is joining with another Facebook charity group, Springfield Stitches for a Cause, to make items for the Sojourn Shelter in Springfield, Illinois.   The Sojourn Shelter was established in 1975 and services five counties throughout Illinois.  It is the largest domestic violence service area in the state.   It is also a repeat shelter challenge for our group.

Since our mailing deadline for this challenge is prior to the Fourth of July, you might want to make some of your slippers/washcloths in a red, white, and blue theme!   (Feel free to post a picture of your items on our Facebook page if you wish!)

For this Challenge, we will need the following number of slippers and washcloths:

35  Women's   -   DONE
  3  Teen Boy's  -  DONE
  7  Pre-teen Boys  -  DONE
  7  Pre-teen Girls  -  DONE
  5  Youth Boys  -  DONE
  5  Youth Girls   -   DONE
  3  Toddler Boys  -  DONE
  3  Toddler Girls  -  DONE
  2  Unisex Baby Booties  -  DONE

70  Washcloths   -   DONE

Mailing Deadline:    June 25, 2014

Mail to:     Laura Kresse, Director of Operations
                  Sojourn Shelter and Services, Inc. 
                  1800 Westchester Blvd.
                  Springfield, Illinois   62704

Our Challenges are also posted on our Facebook page and that is where we receive most of our pledges. If you would like to make a pledge here on the Blog, please put your pledge in a comment box - number of slippers and/or washcloths and categories (women's, teen boys, teen girls, etc.) and we will receive it. The number of slippers/washcloths still needed will be updated here as often as possible during the Challenge.

Our Facebook page is visible to the public without being a member of Facebook; however, you cannot post pledges there unless you have a Facebook account.

Pledges have been made by:

Jill Miller  -  5 washcloths
Anita Silcox Cook  -  5 youth girls
Abby L. Call  -  10 women's
Annette Van Bogaert  -  5 washcloths
Grammie Joyce  -  3 women's, 2 toddler girls, 1 toddler boy
Danine & Victoria Johnson  -  3 washcloths
Theresa Murphy  -  2 women's, 2 washcloths
Julie Braun  -  3 teen boys
Dawn M. Lee  -  5 youth boys
Debbie Smith  -  5 washcloths
Angela Cadieux Farnung  -  5 women's, 10 washcloths
Christina Harris  -  10 washcloths
Kate Sheen  -  10 women's, 4 preteen girls, 4 preteen boys
Elizabeth Reinhardt  -  3 preteen girls, 3 preteen boys, 2 booties, 10 washcloths
Rita Calhoun  -  5 washcloths
Linda Westby  -  5 women's
Judy Warehime  -  1 toddler girl, 2 toddler boys
Lori Lori  -  5 washcloths
Glenda Moore  -  5 washcloths
Rachel Terrill  -  5 washcloths

Get ready.........

Good afternoon, everyone! Are you ready for a Challenge? I sure hope so. I will be posting the next one very shortly. This challenge will be the one that Rachel told you about on May 22nd that will be in conjunction with another great Facebook charity group, Springfield Stitches for a Cause, which is located in Springfield, Illinois....which just happens to be the location of our next shelter challenge. For this challenge, we will be making 70 pairs of slippers and 70 washcloths. Springfield Stitches for a Cause will be making a variety of items (such as, hats, scarves, headbands, toys, etc.). So, with that said and done, here comes the next Challenge for all of you.......

Judy

Another Challenge Completed!

Good afternoon, Pink Slipper-makers!   Are you getting a head start on the next challenge?    If you missed out on making a pledge on the last one, a new Challenge will be posted fairly soon.   Be on the lookout!   In the meantime, slippers and washcloths are small, portable projects to carry along with you anywhere!  For those of you who are new to our group, we make slippers and washcloths in ALL colors - not just pink!

We completed pledging another challenge in record time!   Kate pledged the youth sizes to finish it up.   With such great members, these challenges are a breeze!

With the Cape Cod shelter, we have sent 2258 pairs of slippers and 1713 washcloths to 20 shelters so far in 2014.   Those figures spell out what a wonderful group we have and your dedication to sending love and caring to abused women and children. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Rachel and Judy

Cape Cod Center for Women - North Falmouth, MA

   (***Challenge Completed***)

We are pleased to once again be sending slippers to the Cape Cod Shelter for Women. They serve all of Cape Cod, including the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Since the founding in 2000, they have given sanctuary to over 500 families and received over 10,000 calls to their hotline.

For this Challenge, we will need the following number of slippers:

15 women's  -  DONE
  8 booties in unisex colors  -  DONE
15 toddlers in unisex colors  -  DONE
15 youth in unisex colors  -  DONE

Washcloths -  not requested

Mailing Deadline:  June 23, 2014

Mail to:

Shelter Manager
P. O. Box 141
North Falmouth, MA. 02556

Pledges have been made by:

Vickie Lea Archibald  -  5 youth
Jonlyn Jeter  -  5 women's
Danine & Victoria Johnson  -  3 women's
Jill Miller  -  3 booties, 2 youth
Christina Harris  -  5 toddler, 2 women's
Carole Morales  -  3 women's
Grammie Joyce  -  3 toddlers, 2 youths
Theresa Murphy  -  2 women's
Kate Sheen  -  6 youths
Thora Donar  -  7 toddlers
Peggy Edmondson Grow  -  2 youths
Julia Bunch  -  5 booties

Another Challenge Complete and New YTD Totals

Well, you definitely have to be quick to get in on Challenges here at the Pink Slipper Project!   The Monadnock Center challenge was posted yesterday and today we had pledges for all of the slippers and washcloths!   How fantastic are our members!!   THE BEST!!!

Just to keep you up to date on just how great our members are, as of 5/24/14, our members have pledged/sent out 2,205 pairs of handmade slippers and 1,708 handmade washcloths to shelters across the country!   Something to be very proud of....and it's only the end of May.   We still have seven more months to go in 2014!

If you haven't had an opportunity to make a challenge pledge yet, there will be many more challenges coming.  Get your knitting needles, crochet hooks, and sewing machines warmed up and start making slippers and/or washcloths right now and put them in your stash and be ready ahead of time for the next challenge.   Another one will be posted soon!

Judy

Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention

We have another new Challenge!   (This is not the one mentioned previously that we will be doing in early June, along with Springfield Stitches for a Cause.)

MONADNOCK CENTER FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Keene, New Hampshire     (***CHALLENGE COMPLETED***)

“Breaking the Cycle:  We believe prevention and intervention must be at work simultaneously until we reach our vision.

Empowerment and Self-Determination:  We believe in the right to have control over one's body, mind and spirit.

Health:  We believe that individual, organization, and community health are interrelated and that trauma exposure can impact health and well-being.” 

These are just some of the Core Values of the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention.  They are situated in the southern New Hampshire town of Keene. 
They would like our 'famed' slippers and washcloths.  So here we go!

45 women -  DONE
 3 teen boys - DONE
 5 teen girls - DONE
 3 preteen girls - DONE
 3 preteen boys   -  DONE
 3 youth girls - DONE
 3 youth boys DONE
 3 toddler girls - DONE
 3 toddler boys - DONE
 2 booties for girls  -  DONE
 2 booties for boys  -  DONE

75 washcloths - DONE

Mailing deadline:  June 20, 2014

Send to: 

Theresa Murphy, Shelter Manager 
Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention
12 Court St.
Keene, NH  03431

Our Challenges are also posted on our Facebook page and that is where we receive most of our pledges. If you would like to make a pledge here on the Blog, please put your pledge in a comment box - number of slippers and/or washcloths and categories (women's, teen boys, teen girls, etc.) and we will receive it. The number of slippers/washcloths still needed will be updated here as often as possible during the Challenge.

Our Facebook page is visible to the public without being a member of Facebook; however, you cannot post pledges there unless you have a Facebook account.