Community Projects

The Madison Knitters’ Guild has a strong commitment to the Madison Community. Through the Community Projects Committee, Guild members contribute to agencies that support individuals and families in need.

Contributions include knit and crocheted items donated to elementary schools with large enrollment in the free/reduced lunch program, food pantries, community centers, shelters, hospitals, etc. Although we follow a calendar, donations of any knit or crocheted item are welcome throughout the year. (See Calendar and Partner Agencies for additional information)

Yarn, needles, notions, and patterns donated to the Guild are sold at discounted prices with some proceeds supporting Guild programs. The bulk of the proceeds are donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin. The largest sale of the year (The Second Chance for Second Harvest Sale) is held at the December meeting. (See Donating Supplies )

Some of the yarn donated to the Guild is distributed to the WI Department of Corrections and community programs for children and adults to be turned into items that those programs pass on to others in need. The smallest bits of yarn are donated to school and other art programs.

Toiletries are collected at the December meeting and distributed to community programs.

Community Projects Committee volunteers prepare Ready-to-Knit Kits which include yarn, pattern and notions (if needed) for a member to make an item to donate. Kits are available at the community tables at each month’s Guild meeting. The kits are free. Donors are welcome to use their favorite patterns or see our Patterns page for links to patterns that we have collected.

We attach a tag to every donated item (except dishcloths and toys) with care information and the creator’s first name (to personalize the gift). Tags are available at Guild meetings or may be downloaded and printed as described below.

Stop at the Community tables in the cafeteria before the monthly Guild meetings and during the mid-meeting breaks.

If you'd like to help with the Community Projects team, see Volunteer Opportunities.

Downloading and Printing Tags for Donations

Tags are available at the Community Projects donations tables at every meeting. If you prefer to download and print the tags yourself, use these instructions:

• All donations should have a primary MKG tag attached, which can be downloaded from here.
• For scarves for women served by Domestic Abuse Intervention Services or Salvation Army (see Partner Agencies), please add a second tag, available here.