The Dallas Stand Down is This Month

Published: October 19, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. The Dallas VA is one of our longest standing partners and host one of the largest Stand Downs that we are proud to serve. Their Stand Down is taking place this month and we need you, our crafters and donors, to help us reach our goals and accomplish our mission. We need more hats, scarves, mittens, and cotton soap savers. Additionally we need more yarn. The Lion Brand Pound of Love in any of the darker colors are ideal as our staff at T.H.R.I.V.E. HQ can easily make 6 double-thick hats per skein. Please help us reach our goal to provide 400 hand crafted gifts for the veteran community who will be attending this Stand Down.

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, mittens, 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 Baltimore or the DMV area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD or the DMV 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).

Thank You, WV & KY! Next Stop: TX!

Published: October 12, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We had such a wonderful time serving the homeless military veteran communities at their respective Stand Downs in West Virginia and Kentucky. We still have the Dallas, TX Stand Down coming up this month. It’s one of the largest Stand Downs that we serve and, like West Virginia, is one of our longest partnerships. Please keep those hats, scarves, and mittens coming in; they really do make a huge impact on the morale and comfort of the veterans and their dependents who attend.

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, mittens, 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 Baltimore or the DMV area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD or the DMV 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).

Thank You, Warm Up America!

Published: August 10, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. We want to offer our heartfelt gratitude to our amazing community partner Warm Up America! for their ongoing support for our mission to help end homelessness among our nation’s veterans and their dependents. We are so grateful and we couldn’t do it without you!  

We’re Shipping out our Handcrafted Gifts

Published: August 3, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! It’s that time of year when our larger partners’ Stand Downs are being held. They have larger homeless veteran communities that they serve, all of whom need our lovingly handcrafted gifts to see them through the colder temperatures. Getting the gifts to their destinations comes dear and we need your monetary support to help us to accomplish our mission. If you are able, please make a tax-deductible monetary donation. Shipping and delivering our gifts costs several hundred dollars per Stand Down, so every dollar really helps us accomplish our goals.

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. Let’s keep that momentum going! Our goal is to end homelessness among our nation’s veterans and their dependents and we can’t do it without your support!

Calling All Crafters!

Published: July 27, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! There are multiple Stand Downs each month that we partner with across the U.S.; and although it’s pretty warm outside right now for most of us here in the lower 48, our warm handcrafted gifts are always in high demand.

If you would like to craft a gift for our cause but need inspiration, please peruse our blog at https://thrivevets.org/index.php/blog/ where you can find free patterns as well as awesome tips and tricks. 

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, mittens, 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 Baltimore or the DMV area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD or the DMV 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).

Stand Downs are Right Around the Corner!

Published: July 20, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Many of our long-time partner Veteran Administrations around the country are asking for our handcrafted gifts for their upcoming Stand Downs. As usual, we’ve set a goal for ourselves to create the most impact with the help of our very talented crafters. Currently, we need 500 hats, scarves, mittens, etc to meet the needs of our homeless veteran community that will be attending these Stand Downs. If you like crafting for kids, we have requests from multiple VAs for school-aged children sized hats and scarves, and baby buntings with hats for those veterans who either have infants or are expecting. Of course, we would like to exceed these numbers. Many of the VAs ask us for a few extra hats to hand out as the need arises. 

If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, mittens, 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 Baltimore or the DMV area, please contact us to schedule a pickup. If you reside outside of the Baltimore, MD or the DMV 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).

Thank You Staff Members!

Published: June 29, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We want to thank the members of our dedicated staff who spent their weekend crafting for our partner V.A. in Anchorage, Alaska. Their hard work and dedication to T.H.R.I.V.E. Association’s mission is second to none. A heartfelt thanks to all of you! We are so grateful for all that you do!

As we said in our post last week, our goal is to take at least 150 hats and scarves, and 20 blankets to the Anchorage V.A. These gifts are always deeply treasured by the veterans and their dependents. We have heard both from the veterans themselves and also from VA staff and other Community partners that our lovingly handcrafted gifts really do encourage the veterans and make them feel appreciated and loved. Our gifts are more than the sum of the parts; what makes them special is that they are handmade by the T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family of crafters with love and appreciation.

If you don’t craft, but want to help, please make a tax-deductible monetary donation to help cover the travel costs. Alternatively, if you would like to make an in-kind gift, we need Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn. Just one of these one-pound balls of yarn can easily make up to six warm double thick hats!  

We need hats, scarves, and blankets for Anchorage!

Published: June 22, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Our C.E.O. is going back to Anchorage, Alaska for the V.A.’s annual VSO (Veteran Service Organizations) Day on July 15, 2026. We love meeting with the veterans and their families and letting them know that we’re here and how we support them as they recover from homelessness. The Anchorage VA and their veteran community are near and dear to us. Alaska has a very large homeless veteran population and we make it our mission to help reduce those numbers by providing our handmade gifts to the veterans as they work to get back on their feet. 

Our goal is to take at least 150 hats and scarves, and 20 blankets to the Anchorage VA. These gifts are always deeply treasured by the veterans and their dependents. We have heard both from the veterans themselves and also from VA staff and other Community partners that our lovingly handcrafted gifts really do encourage the veterans and make them feel appreciated and loved. Our gifts are more than the sum of the parts; what makes them special is that they are handmade by the T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family of crafters with love and appreciation.

If you don’t craft, but want to help, please make a tax-deductible monetary donation to help cover the travel costs. Alternatively, if you would like to make an in-kind gift, we need Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn. Just one of these one-pound balls of yarn can easily make up to six warm double thick hats!  

Upcoming Stand Downs

Published: June 15, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Many of our long-time partner Stand Downs have been sending us their wish lists for T.H.R.I.V.E. Association’s handcrafted gifts for their upcoming Stand Downs. As usual, we’ve set a goal for ourselves to create the most impact with the help of our very talented crafters. Currently, we need 500 hats, scarves, mittens, etc to meet the needs of our homeless veteran community that will be attending these Stand Downs. Additionally, we need 20 lap blankets for wheelchair users, and 70 children sized hats and scarves.

If you need inspiration, please feel free to look around on our blog. We have shared many free patterns throughout the years. Many of these patterns can be found on Yarnspirations.com. They have been a great partner since the very beginning of our formation. And, for the next few days every pattern downloaded from their website Yarnspirations will donate to Warm Up America (another cherished community partner).

Thank You, Warm Up America!

Published: June 8, 2026  ~   0

Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We would like to send a special shoutout to our wonderful community partners at Warm Up America!, whom we had the great privilege to meet at DFW Fiber Fest 2025. We are truly grateful for their support and the generous donation of beautiful handmade blankets for our veteran community. Visit their website at warmupamerica.org to learn more about their mission and efforts.