Armed Forces Bowl 2024

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! T.H.R.I.V.E. will have a booth in the Veterans’ Village at the Armed Forces Bowl being held at the Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas on December 27. We’ll be there to raise awareness about our mission of providing a hand up to our underprivileged military veterans and their dependents, so come on by and say, “Hi!” It’s always been a lot of fun in previous years, so we encourage you to attend if you can make it. We look forward to seeing you there!


Keep Crafting!

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We were so proud and honored to have been able to successfully serve the several hundred homeless military veterans and their dependents in our partner Stand Downs held in October. We’re going to keep up that momentum, as there are always more Stand Downs on the horizon. Prior to a Stand Down event, our partner VA will send us a list of demographics and needs for their local veteran community. With that, all of our handmade goods are crafted to those specifications for that particular Stand Down event. Because of this, we never have a surplus of gifts or inventory for upcoming Stand Downs and we are always starting from scratch. Please keep crafting, as we have more Stand Downs coming up! We are in particular need of hats, scarves, and lap blankets.

If you would like to donate a hat, scarf, lap blanket, 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 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 and are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can ship your donations to us here in Dallas. 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)!


It’s Time for the Dallas and Abilene Stand Downs!

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We’re all hands on deck, working hard to prepare for both the Dallas and Abilene Stand Downs being held later this week. Supporting both of these events back-to-back is looking to leave us starting back from scratch, so please don’t stop crafting for our underprivileged veterans and their dependents!

If you would like to donate a hat, scarf, lap blanket, 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 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 and are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can ship your donations to us here in Dallas. 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)!


Last Call for Dallas and Abilene Donations

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! This week is the last call for your donations to make it in time for next week’s Dallas and Abilene Stand Down events. Please send in your hand-crafted donations to us as soon as possible or, if you are in the DFW area or thereabouts, please contact us to schedule a pick up. Every donation can truly make a difference and is greatly needed and appreciated by our underprivileged military veterans and their dependents.


Donate Today!

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We still need your help to support the upcoming Stand Down events being held throughout the United States that benefit our underprivileged military veterans and their dependents. We need hats, scarves, mittens, gaiters, and lap blankets for these Stand Downs as they are in the colder regions of the United States. Please send in your donations ASAP (or make arrangements to schedule a pickup if you are in the DFW area). The sooner we receive your donated garments, the sooner we can thoroughly process them for the upcoming shipments to these Stand Downs. You can also make a monetary donation to help us cover the costs of shipping, materials, and overhead.


We Need your Support!

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We need your support to continue our mission to provide a hand up to all of our underprivileged military veterans and their dependents. All monetary donations are tax deductible and directly help to cover the costs of materials, shipping, and overhead. Also, our much loved wristbands, stress footballs, and t-shirts are available on our web-shop! No donation is too little, as a single skein of inexpensive yarn can be lovingly hand crafted into multiple gifts for our veteran community to treasure for the warmth and support that they provide.


Garment Donations Needed!

     Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We hope that you all had a wonderful 4th of July. Many of our staff took the opportunity to enjoy a group picnic, listening to music, and crafting. There really is nothing quite like knitting a hat for our veteran community to “Stars and Stripes Forever!”

     Although it is still Summer, we do have several Stand Downs right around the corner. These particular Stand Downs are in colder climates and the cooler temperatures come sooner there than they do here in our home state of Texas. With that, we need hats (preferably those with a brim that can be folded over in order to provide extra warmth), scarves, mittens, and lap blankets to meet the needs of the homeless veteran community and their dependents throughout the nation.

If you would like to donate a hat, scarf, lap blanket, 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 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 and are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can ship your donations to us here in Dallas. 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)!


We are Thankful for Our Revolutionary Patriots

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. As we approach the upcoming anniversary of the birth of our great nation, we wanted to take this time to reflect on the veterans and their families that served in the Revolutionary War. These brave people fought for their rights and ideals; the right to live in a free nation and not under a monarch across an ocean, but under an elected government. It is because of their bravery, courage, and sacrifices that we as Americans enjoy the rights and ideals that we have today. 


Basketball Team Color Chart

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! As crafters, it is sometimes tempting to use flashy colored yarns/textiles, color work, and fancy stitches in our crafted goods. However, these qualities are by and large not desired by the veteran community that we serve. These proud individuals tend to prefer darker colors and straight-to-the-point garments. We want to provide them with what they need. The vast majority want garments made in either straight camouflage or solid blacks, blues, greens, grays, dark reds, and royal purples. However, if you have your heart set on practicing your color work, then sports team colors are always a veteran community favorite. This handy basketball team color chart will help make it even easier to find more color combinations that can appeal to our wonderful veterans and those whom they support.

Please remember that Stand Downs happen year-round across the country, so we always need your skills, help, and donations to provide the vital supplies and services that our vets and their dependents need at these events. Thank you for your continued support and happy crafting!


Halfway Into 2024

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! It’s June and we’re surrounded by summer warmth, but let’s not slow down on crafting the warm garments needed by our nation’s underprivileged military veterans and their dependents throughout the United States.

If you would like to donate a hat, scarf, lap blanket, 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 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 and are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, you can ship your donations to us here in Dallas. 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)!