Back At It!

Published: January 12, 2026  ~   0

Happy Plough Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We hope that you all had a joyous holiday season and a lovely start to 2026. We here at T.H.R.I.V.E. HQ are back from our holiday vacations and ready for action! We have Stand Downs on the horizon so please stay tuned for updates.

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, face mask, or other handcrafted garment to our cause, please remember that the dear veterans and their dependents prefer dark colors, e.g. blue, black, green, grey, and all-time favorite, camouflage. If you would like to knit, crochet, or sew a garment in a brighter color, red or deep purple are always popular bright colors. We cannot emphasize this important point enough: please do not use sparkly or overly decorative yarns and fabrics. While they have their place, they are simply inappropriate for the veterans and their dependents (including children because of potential choking hazards). 

If you are not a crafter, but would like to help, there are still many ways to support our cause! Please consider donating materials and/or making a monetary donation to help us cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead.

If you have donations within the Baltimore area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can send your donations to us at:

Care of: Victoria Walker at T.H.R.I.V.E. Association
900 E Fayette St #1583
Baltimore, MD 21233

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).

Hello, 2026!

Published: January 5, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We wish you and your loved ones all the best for 2026 and we’ll hit the ground running when we return next week!

Happy Holidays

Published: December 29, 2025  ~   0

Happy holidays, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We hope that you and your loved ones are having a warm, safe, and wonderful holiday. We’ll see you in 2026!

We’re Here For You

Published: December 22, 2025  ~   0

Happy holidays, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We wish you and your loved ones a joyous and festive holiday season. Our offices will be closed until January 8, 2026, but we know that the holidays can be isolating and/or traumatizing. So, if you need to talk to somebody, please reach out to us. We’re always here for you. See you next year!

Winter Donations Needed

Published: December 15, 2025  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Winter is in full swing and the need for more hats, scarves, mittens, gaiters, and lap blankets is even greater during these colder times. With your help, we can continue to provide the much needed warmth to our nation’s heroes while they are on their road to recovery.

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, face mask, or other handcrafted garment to our cause, please remember that the dear veterans and their dependents prefer dark colors, e.g. blue, black, green, grey, and all-time favorite, camouflage. If you would like to knit, crochet, or sew a garment in a brighter color, red or deep purple are always popular bright colors. Please do not use sparkly or overly decorative yarns and fabrics.

If you are not a crafter, but would like to help, there are still many ways to support our cause! Please consider donating materials and/or making a monetary donation to help us cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead.

Our Veteran Community Loves Football!

Published: December 8, 2025  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. Over the last decade, we have served countless Stand Downs. When serving at these Stand Downs, we have found that our underprivileged veterans and their dependents have a tendency to avoid colorful garments because they are deemed too loud, or maybe not serious enough. We strive to give the veterans what they want, which are garments in blues, blacks, greens, grays, and (our most popular) camouflage. As a side note, red and royal purple are also crowd favorites. However, as crafters we love our colorwork! It helps us build our skills and stretch our creative muscles. Colorwork is also a great way to use bits of yarn from other skeins so that we’re not wasteful. After all, yarn is a precious commodity to a crafter!

If we want to do some colorwork for a donated gift and we really want to use that bit of beautiful, bright yellow in our stash, how might we do that? We have a solution that has proven to be very successful – Show some team spirit!  Our staff has put together a handy dandy chart of some popular football teams for some inspiration! This is by no means an all-inclusive chart, it is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Remember, college football teams are also quite popular. We are always getting requests for hats in team colors. In fact, at the Dallas Stand Down, there were two veterans who wanted the same purple and gold beanie and we had very limited supplies of those. However, we promised to put the word out to our crafters to ensure that there were more for next year.

We’ve still got Stand Downs coming up, so please keep sending in your donations.

Cyber Monday Gifts

Published: December 1, 2025  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer or just looking for a gift for yourself, our ever-popular stress footballs are back in stock. Stop by our web shop this Cyber Monday and make a tax-deductible donation to help our cause while also getting something nice for yourself and/or your loved ones!

We’re Thankful for You

Published: November 24, 2025  ~   0

Happy Monday dear, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We hope that you all have a safe and joyous holiday. As we were having our monthly meeting, we went around the table and asked each staff member what they were thankful for; and although we each had our own things to be thankful for this season, the common thread was you, our T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We are so thankful to have you all in our family. It takes a village to accomplish our goal. You are vital in helping us accomplish our mission to end homelessness among our Nation’s veterans and their dependents. Remember that we love you all and are thinking of each and every one of you here at T.H.R.I.V.E. HQ.

We know that the holidays can be tough for everyone. Just know that we are always here for you. And, although our office will be closed for the Thursday and Friday of this week, our phone lines are always open if you need to talk. Stay safe, and take care of yourselves.

Our Goal for December

Published: November 17, 2025  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! There are still veterans in need and we’ve already got request lists from our partner Stand Downs for 2026. We have an ambitious goal to reach 600 lovely hand crafted hats, scarves, mittens, etc. by December 31st. Many of these veterans live in very cold areas of our Nation. Please help us to reach our goal to support the veterans and their dependents who are under the care of our partner V.A.s.

Stand Downs are very effective at helping veterans recover from homelessness, and we love supporting them in their efforts. We have had several veterans who have attended Stand Downs in the past, received our gifts, and are now recovered sufficiently to volunteer/donate to our cause. Lets keep that momentum going!  

If you would like to help our cause to end veteran homelessness, but are not a crafter, please consider making a tax-deductible monetary donation to cover the cost of shipping our gifts to  our partner Stand Downs. Often these shipping costs are several hundred dollars, so every dollar helps.

Veterans Day 2025

Published: November 10, 2025  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. Tomorrow is Veterans Day, which is a very special day for our community. It is a day of remembrance, gratitude, and also provides the additional fire that we use to keep fighting for our cause to end homelessness among our nation’s veterans and their dependents.

This day honors the signing of the Armistice in 1918, which officially ended the first World War. Many of those who made it back home were scarred by horrors of the “great war” and so many, including members of some of our own families, carried unspeakable pain with them for their entire lives. They were silent. They remained stoic. They had done their duty for their country.

Today we would like to offer a moment of silence for those brave American service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have a future free of tyranny. We would also like to thank all of the brave men and women who are currently serving, and those who have served, our great nation. You have our heartfelt gratitude and our deepest respect.