Memories and Rules on Color

Published: January 23, 2021 ~ 0

As T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is preparing to send our annual parcels of donated handcrafted goods to the various Stand Downs across our great nation, we find ourselves remembering all of the wonderful veterans and their dependents that we have served in the previous years. Casting our minds back to a time when we were able to attend Stand Downs in person, we remember the many faces of the noble men and women whom we serve. They were all such wonderful people.

Please remember that many of these individuals are veterans (many of whom have served in theaters of war) who are keen to preserve their dignity – which they are wholly entitled to. Although pink and sparkly yarn might be fun to work with, it is not the preference of either the male or female veterans or their dependents whom we serve. We ask our volunteers and donors to please keep that in mind as they are crafting for our cause. Many of our brave veterans and their dependents prefer darker colors (e.g. black, blue, green, grey, brown, camouflage). The only exceptions that we have found to that rule are the deeper reds and sports teams colors.

Although several of the Stand Downs that we support have been postponed or have had to be altered to keep our communities safe in this current pandemic, we are still collecting goods that will be sent to the various V.A.s throughout the year so please, please keep crafting! 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 need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. If you have donations, we are still continuing our policy of curbside pickup. Please contact us to schedule a pickup if you are in the DFW area. If you reside outside the DFW area and would like to make an in-kind donation, please contact us to make arrangements. Remember, even one lovingly handcrafted hat can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent.

Scarves Needed & Curbside Pickup

Published: June 26, 2020 ~ 0

Happy Friday to all of our wonderful crafters, supporters, veterans, et al! Thank you all so much for your awesome support during these difficult times. We are working tirelessly with our Community Partners to find the best way forward through the crisis at hand. T.H.R.I.V.E. Association remains vigilant in its mission to ensure that our veterans and their dependents receive our essential hand-crafted goods.

Our organization is currently gearing up to serve several upcoming Stand Downs and we greatly appreciate all of the generous donations that we have received. However, there is still a ways to go to meet the anticipated demand. Our goal for the upcoming Stand Downs is to have as many scarves as there are hats. It is important to us that each veteran and dependent is provided a complete set rather than having to chose between the two much-needed items. As the numbers stand currently, there is a need for more scarves. There are several amazing free scarf patterns available on yarnspirations .com, ravelry.com, and garnstudio.com if you would like inspiration.

For our volunteers who live in the Metroplex, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association will continue our policy of residential curbside pickup of donations until the danger of Covid-19 has passed. If you have donations that you would like to turn in, please contact our office by phone at (469) 427-9654, or send an email to thriveassociation@thrivevets.org to arrange for a pickup time and date. Mr. Torrey Mirow is normally in charge of those pickups and he will call/text you to keep you updated about arrival time, etc. Additionally, please let us know if you need any yarn or other materials to complete projects for our veterans and their dependents. These materials will be put in a sealed bag with a “check out” slip enclosed and exchanged at the residential curbside location.

Our staff is continuing to monitor the situation across the United States very closely. We know that these are trying times for everyone – especially the homeless veteran population that we serve, who were already incredibly vulnerable prior to the pandemic. We will continue to strictly observe the guidelines provided by the Center for Disease Control as well as those issued by the numerous municipalities that we aid.

The Gainsville, FL Stand Down is Served!

Published: February 14, 2020 ~ 0

We have sent 120 of our beautiful, handmade garments to the Gainsville, FL Stand Down being held on February 20th. Many thanks to our dedicated staff, volunteers, donors, and community partners!

Stand Down This Saturday!

Published: December 18, 2019 ~ 0

We would like to thank the American Red Cross again for their continued support! We are so very grateful for all that they do for us! Their awesome donation of 40 exquisitely knit hats and 27 scarves will be deeply appreciated by our veterans and their dependents.

T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is going to take part in Operation Care’s Stand Down in Dallas this Saturday. We are still collecting goods to distribute to the over 700 veterans and their family members who are expected to attend. If you have donations that you would still like to turn in for this Saturday’s Stand Down, please call our Chief Officer, Victoria Walker (469) 427-9654 so that we can arrange for a pick up.

2017 Metroplex Stand Downs

Published: March 4, 2018 ~ 0

2017 was a great year for T.H.R.I.V.E. Association! We are proud to have participated in many amazing Stand Downs around the Metroplex. Although we had record numbers of veterans, we were still able to ensure that each veteran and/or dependent who came though our line was served and is now the proud wearer of a handmade hat and/or scarf.

These Stand Downs left us with beautiful and moving experiences that we will carry with us for all time. It was a joy to see many of our dear veterans walking around proudly wearing their newly acquired handmade goods, all the while keeping our “handmade with love” tags visible to all. So many of the people that we served were deeply touched by the fact that our items were handcrafted and were grateful that our volunteers took the time and effort to make them. For instance, one of the gentlemen equated his new hat to his treasured grandmother-made blanket, which told us he carried with him in his backpack. These gifts really do enhance their morale and are deeply cherished.

We have many Stand Downs on the horizon this year, so there is still time to make items for our veterans. Please keep sending in your handmade hats, scarves, etc. so that we can continue to support our veterans and their dependents!

DROPS Florence Hat & Neck Warmer

Published: October 16, 2017 ~ 0

We would like to take a moment to say goodbye to a beloved mother, friend, and devoted volunteer, Mrs. Anne Walker. She had been with T.H.R.I.V.E. Association almost from the beginning and had championed our cause at every opportunity. She will be remembered for her warm hugs, perseverance, and her maternal love for all of us. Rest in peace, Mom. We love you.

Mrs. Anne Walker: September 1964- August 2017

This week’s free pattern is a beautiful set, developed by Drops, called “Florence”. Although we admit that this pattern took a bit more concentration, it was very rewarding and well worth the time! The garment is simply stunning! And, despite its appearance, it is incredibly warm.

Please click the link below to get your copy of the pattern:

https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=5284&cid=17

Also, as a bonus, there are how-to videos on the page to help you with many of the needed techniques!

In closing for this week, we have a few general announcements. As we get closer to the colder months, please make sure to start sending in any donations that you want to receive credit for this year so that we can catalogue them and ensure that they are sent out to upcoming Stand Downs. Further, as many of our volunteers have asked, we are no longer hosting the Friday Night Craft-a-thon at Half Priced Books. (We know that fighting Dallas rush hour traffic on a Friday night can be treacherous!) Please note that we do have many other community crafting events and will continue to develop more, so stay tuned. Also, we are developing a map of all of the Stand Downs that we partner with across the U.S. and its territories. This map will contain several key pieces of information about the demographics of the veterans and their families. Additionally, we do get wish lists from each Stand Down which help us set our goals. Our aim here is to be as transparent as possible to our volunteers and community partners. Also, we hope that these resources will aid our volunteers in knowing what to make and help them decide where they would like their goods to go.

Needed: Cowls and Scarves!

Published: May 24, 2017 ~ 0

Are you still looking for a project for our homeless military veterans and not quite sure what to make? We have a solution. We took stock of all the items that we currently have and posted our metrics on the T.H.R.I.V.E. Association website’s homepage. If you have not done so already, be sure to check it out! This is going to be our gauge to let our volunteers know what items are still needed. If you already have some items completed, please be sure to send them in as soon as possible so that they can be counted, sized, and labeled. Remember, we will be giving out some awesome prizes to our top three most productive volunteers this year!

So, as our chart on our homepage shows, one of items that we need most right now are scarves and cowls. With that, here is a free pattern for a crocheted cowl, which is certainly one of our favorites – it is the Millbrook Cowl from Lion Brand.

Continuing the Celebration with a Free Hat Pattern!

Published: February 24, 2017 ~ 0

This week, as promised, we present to you a fantastic granny square hat pattern, compliments of Yarnspirations. It is unique, colorful, and at first glance perhaps intimidating, but we promise that it is wonderfully easy to complete. The Bernat Granny Stripes Hat is worked in multiple colors, so it is an excellent opportunity to practice your color work!

The pattern can be found here.

Additionally, there is a free corresponding video tutorial on the pattern’s page to aid you. The video even goes into how to alter the pattern if the hat is too big, or how to account for looser crocheting. We encourage our crafters to download the pattern and crochet along with the video!

As a side note to our crafters, if you find a pattern that you like, please feel free to make as many as you want. There is no requirement to make each donated item different. Who knows, we may have many veterans who want or need the same item.

* Footnote: although this week’s pattern calls for five colors, we decided to make a hat that would match with last week’s cowl which was two colors. These patterns are flexible, so be creative!

It’s Official, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is a 501(c)(3)!

Published: February 17, 2017 ~ 0

Hey, fellow crafters and supporters! Yes, you read the headline right: after lots of hard work, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is now a federally recognized nonprofit organization! This status is retroactive, so remember to include your contributions on your taxes this year.

To celebrate our good news, we will be posting more free patterns over the next few weeks. Our last couple of free patterns were knit, so we’ll be switching gears and posting some crochet patterns. This week’s free crochet pattern is for all the granny square lovers out there. This pattern, compliments of Knit Picks, is called the Chromatic Granny Stripe Cowl.

Click here for the link to the Chromatic Granny Stripe Cowl pattern.

It is a simple and elegant piece that worked up in just a couple of evenings! It is very soft and versatile which makes it a perfect gift for those in need. We will be posting a matching hat in a later blog, so stay with us!

As the Winter months were particularly harsh in many of the areas that we serve, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is hoping to be able to provide a scarf/cowl for every hat that we hand out this year. So, please feel free to make as many as you’d like. Trust us, we can never have too many! Don’t forget to send us your finished wet-blocked projects so that they can be counted and you can receive tax credit!

If you are interested in learning to craft for our homeless military veterans and those whom they support, please come out and join us for our Friday Night Craft-a-thon if you are in the DFW area. We look forward to seeing you! If you can’t make it, or don’t live in the Metroplex – no problem! Instead, you can check out our friends at Very Pink Knits and KnittingHelp.com. Both offer fantastic free tutorials and have amazing teachers!

Seasons’ Greetings from T.H.R.I.V.E. Association!

Published: December 25, 2016 ~ 0

As we enjoy the comforts of hearth and home this holiday season (many of us also surrounded by loved ones), please keep our Nation’s underprivileged ex-service men and women in your thoughts- especially those who reside in the states most affected by this year’s Winter weather.

T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is expanding to meet the needs of our homeless veterans across the country. With this, we’re aiming for at least 500 items this year to be distributed fairly among the Homeless Veterans’ Stand Downs that we have partnered with. Due to increased demand for our handmade goods, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association is working on holding additional crafting sessions during the week so please stay tuned for more details. In the interim, please continue to check our weekly blog for more free patterns and come craft with us at our Craft-a-thons, which will resume this Friday. Also, please remember that it is not too late to make an end-of-the-year donation; we still need yarn, your skills, and your time!