Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! During the past few months we have experienced rising numbers of our ever-growing family dealing with mental health crises. We know that times are hard and sometimes it seems like you just can’t catch your breath or a break. We get it.
Please make sure to take time to practice good self-care – even if it is a few minutes of meditation a day. Also, just to put it out there, crafting is great self-care! However, if you find things getting on top of you, just know that we are here for you! Please feel free to reach out to one of highly trained staff members. Our phone lines are open 24/7. We are here to offer a non-judgmental ear. Trust us, there is no shame in asking for help – especially when it comes to your health.
Happy Monday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We know that today is an especially trying day- as are all Tax Days, so we are here to hopefully make your day a bit brighter. Just an F.Y.I. if you made a monetary donation to us in 2021, or if you are looking to maximize your deductions for 2022 (or future years for that matter), remember that all monetary donations to T.H.R.I.V.E. Association are tax deductible! So you get the awesome feeling of knowing that you helped our Nation’s underprivileged military veterans and their dependents, while also getting a tax deduction. Pretty sweet, right?
Happy Monday, T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Remember that while you are shopping for jelly beans, chocolates, or other treats that power your amazing crafting, you can support our cause through AmazonSmile, where any purchases that you make will automatically donate a small percentage to us with no additional cost to you. If you’re an Amazon shopper but haven’t yet signed up for Amazon’s Smile program, head on over to https://smile.amazon.com/ and follow the sign-up process there. You can find our charity by searching for “thrive association” in the list of charitable organizations. We’re listed as “Thrive,” located in Dallas, TX with the description that starts with “In remembrance and appreciation of the sacrifice that our military veterans have made for their country…”
If you’d like to donate a hat, scarf, blanket, 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 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. As detailed above, AmazonSmile is also an additional way that you can help us in our cause to support our underprivileged veterans and their dependent(s).
If you need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. Please be aware that any communications are recorded. If you have donations and cannot make it to one of our in-person knitting groups, 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 or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).
Happy Friday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family. The rumors are true and we’re not fooling around, despite it being April 1st! We are moving our weekly blog post to Mondays rather than our usual Fridays. We have had quite a few requests from volunteers and donors who would like to be able to read our blogs earlier in the week so that they can try out some of our awesome tips and tricks on their current projects, get inspiration for new projects to donate, or simply to make plans to give other much needed donations.
We always aim to please our phenomenal community! So after some deliberation at T.H.R.I.V.E. Association HQ, we decided that Mondays would be the best day. After all, what is better than getting a new knitting/crochet/sewing pattern, useful pro tip, seeing a happy veteran, etc. to get our amazing crafters and donors through the Monday Blues?
Stay tuned. We have tons of good stuff coming your way!
Good morning, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! This week, we would like to continue our “Question and Answer” series. We have been getting some great questions from our amazing crafters and we would like to take a moment to try and answer some of them.
Have you ever wondered why two balls, hanks, skeins, etc. of yarn that are from the same company have the same color name on their yarn sleeve, but look like completely different colors? It is actually very common; you’re not seeing things. Believe us, we run into it all the time. The example photo shows the variance that occurs within the same brand’s colorway.
The reason has to do with the “dye lot” of the yarn. Most of the time, there is going to be some variance even within the same colors, especially from different dye lots! Generally, no two dye lots are ever the same. And, that’s okay. We are knowledgable crafters; we can account for that. If you are starting a project that requires more than one ball, hank, skein, etc., try to get all of the required yarn from the same dye lot number. Some yarns will not have a dye lot number and will simply state “no dye lot.” In this case, trust your eyes. They are really pretty reliable. If you need a reminder about where to find the dye lot number on the yarn label, please follow the link below to check out our blog on “Demystifying Yarn Labels” https://thrivevets.org/index.php/2021/10/18/demystifying-yarn-labels/.
Happy Friday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to our community partners at the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority for graciously providing the much needed Adult Mental Health First Aid training course. We are so grateful for having the opportunity to attend. We would also like to thank our instructor, Mr. Josh Munkeby, who was very knowledgable about the course material and willing to share his experience as well as best practices. As an Organization with lived experience in helping individuals experiencing mental health crises, we know first-hand that it is very difficult to know what to do when these delicate situations arise. They are sometimes terrifying and can catch anyone off guard. However, we strive to be better prepared so that we are more able to serve both our community and stakeholders.
Happy Friday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Firstly, we would like to thank you for all for your generous donations thus far! Your lovingly hand crafted goods are deeply treasured and appreciated by those that receive them. We still have lots of Stand Downs coming up, so please keep sending in your hand crafted gifts so that we can continue to serve those who so admirably served our great nation.
In the past, we’ve gotten some questions from donors regarding slippers/socks. We do get several requests throughout the year from V.A.s that we partner with for these wonderful items. They are most notably meant for veterans who suffer from nerve damage. Our Chief Officer can personally attest to the painful nature of this condition. There are many great and easy free patterns available compliments of our friends at Yarnspirations and Lion Brand. Today, we would like to share a wonderful free pattern, Bernat’s Slipper Boots, compliments of our friends at Yarnspirations. This pattern weaves up surprisingly quickly and as the pattern suggests, is quite easy. This is a great pattern if it is your first time making crochet slippers.
Pro Tip: Make sure to keep your tension consistent for a comfortable texture and visually pleasing look!
If you would like to donate a hat, scarf, blanket, 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 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. Please remember you can support our cause by shopping on AmazonSmile. See the “Shop for Our Cause” blog post for additional information.
If you need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. Please be aware that any communications are recorded. If you have donations and cannot make it to one of our in-person knitting groups, 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 or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).
Happy Friday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! Temperatures are below freezing in many of the areas that we send our lovingly handcrafted goods to this time of year. With that, please make sure that donated hats are long enough to cover the recipient’s ears and are preferably long enough to be folded up to create extra warmth. If you need inspiration and would like a pattern of one of our most popular hats, please visit https://thrivevets.org/index.php/2021/01/15/happy-national-hat-day/ to get a free pattern compliments of Yarnspirations. We have lots of Stand Downs coming up, so please keep sending in your donations so that we can continue to serve those who so admirably served this great nation! We’ve had a very special request for lap/twin size blankets and slippers (for those veterans who suffer from nerve damage) from one of our long-time Stand Down partners.
If you would like to donate a hat, scarf, blanket, 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 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. Please remember you can support our cause by shopping on AmazonSmile. See the “Shop for Our Cause” blog post for additional information.
If you need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. Please be aware that any communications are recorded. If you have donations and cannot make it to one of our in-person knitting groups, 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 or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).
Happy Friday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year. We are hitting the ground running in 2022. We have many Stand Downs coming up, several are located in very cold areas, so please keep sending in your donations so that we can continue to serve those who so admirably served this great nation! We’ve had a very special request for lap/twin size blankets and slippers (for those veterans who suffer from nerve damage) from one of our long-time Stand Down partners.
If you would like to donate a hat, scarf, blanket, 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 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. Please remember you can support our cause by shopping on AmazonSmile. See the “Shop for Our Cause” blog post for additional information.
If you need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. Please be aware that any communications are recorded. If you have donations and cannot make it to one of our in-person knitting groups, 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 or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).
Happy Friday, dear T.H.R.I.V.E. Association family! We hope that you are all enjoying this lovely festive season. Earlier this week we had the great privilege of serving Operation Care’s Annual Christmas Gift here in Dallas. We were able to provide 200 hats and scarves to the wonderful veterans who are scheduled to attend this incredible event. Our work is still far from over! We still have many more Stand Downs coming up, so please keep sending in your donations so that we can continue to serve those who so admirably served this great nation! Again, we have had a very special request for lap blankets from one of our long-time Stand Down partners.
If you would 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 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. Please remember you can support our cause by shopping on AmazonSmile. See the “Shop for Our Cause” blog post for additional information.
If you need yarn, or other supplies, please contact us through email at thriveassociation@thrivevets.org or by phone at (469) 427-9654. Please be aware that any communications are recorded. If you have donations and cannot make it to one of our in-person knitting groups, 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 or scarf can make a huge difference in the life of an underprivileged veteran or their dependent(s).
