Season of Kindness
- The Guide's Grab Bag
- Nov 4
- 4 min read
Hello, Friends! November is here, which means stick season, colder weather, cozy sweaters, and that undeniable feeling we get when the holidays are approaching. While the holiday season is mostly a time of joy and gathering with loved ones, it can also be filled with anxiety and sadness for many people. Those of us who are struggling, for any reason, can feel that struggle even more acutely at this time of year.
I’m not ashamed to share that I feel the struggle now, too. I often have to take a moment to pause and remind myself of the things that are good in my life and in our community. If I don’t do that, I can get overwhelmed and go into a state of depression. Thankfully, there is always something to be grateful for, even if at first I think otherwise. I know I’m not alone.
My colleague, Jen Hathaway, has been the Art Director for The Guide for many years, in all its iterations, including back in the Pennysaver days. I highlighted her and two of our other colleagues in the very first issue of The Guide in January. Jen has offered up a little light in the darkness today by sharing a personal story that I believe will resonate with many of you. It’s about showing kindness, doing things for others, and feeling more content within oneself as a result. Jen is setting an important example that we can all follow, each in our own way.
Knit the Rainbow
By Jen Hathaway
When I was in college in the early 1990s, in Boston, my parents would make a day trip on a weekend to visit me. We’d wander the city a bit, walk around Kenmore Square (just a block away from my dorm) or meander through the Public Garden to see the ducks and swan boats. We’d have lunch together, and then they’d head out to make the three-hour drive back to Vermont.
Each time they’d visit, my mom would have a few plastic bags neatly filled with hats, scarves, and mittens that she had knit, and she would leave them on random benches for anyone who was homeless or in need to take. We never talked about it, and I never asked her about it. It was just something she did and I accepted it at face value. She was a kind person, so of course she would do kind things like that.
I remembered this a month or so ago after a particularly depressing session of doom scrolling that left me feeling helpless and hopeless. I often look for ways to help others when I feel like that, because it softens the blow of current events happening in the world around me - it may be a small thing I do, but it makes me feel less helpless and hopeless to give back. I wondered if my mom’s knitted, anonymous gifts gave her the same feeling of solace.
There was certainly a lot of bad news happening in the 1990s. The AIDS crisis, wars in the middle east, car bombings in Ireland, civil war in Somalia, drug wars in South America. It was a rough time to watch the news back then. Maybe knitting warm hats and scarves for people who need them gave my mom a bit of relief from all of that. Maybe it made her feel less helpless and hopeless.
She passed away several years ago, so of course I miss her more when I’m feeling down. So I decided what better way to both feel closer to her and put some good out in the world than to do exactly what she did. I’m not much of a traveler these days, so I scoured the internet for an organization I could send things to - there are so many out there! It took me about two hours of reading about numerous organizations to find one that felt right to me - and I landed on Knit the Rainbow.
They are a small organization, founded just five years ago in New York City. The founder, Austin Rivers, wanted to help the housing crisis affecting LGBT youth. And asking people to donate knit and crocheted protective winter garments to be distributed to these youths would not only fill a need that wasn’t currently being met, but also educate people about the crisis of homelessness faced by them. They now distribute garments in four cities and have collection sites at more than 50 yarn shops across the country. They have distributed over 16,500 garments already! Knit the Rainbow seems like the closest thing to what my mom used to do, and I can ship off a box of completed garments to them for distribution.
So far, I have crocheted two cowls and one scarf. I’m working on a second scarf currently, and I plan to whip up a few hats after that. Who knows, I may even try my hand at some mittens, too! I have a box set aside, and once I’ve got it packed full, I will ship it off. I’ve got a stash of yarn and all the tools I need already, so I was able to start immediately. And you know what? It works. The world feels a little less dark every time I sit down with my yarn and hook, because I know I can make a difference in someone’s life, even in a small way.
If you, too, feel like the world is closing in, I’d like to encourage you to find a way to give back, and see if it brings a bit of light back into your life. It doesn’t have to be big, or expensive, or loud. Find something that speaks to you that’s within your means and skills - or even learn a new skill just to have a new way to give! Maybe if enough of us practice kindness and generosity, we can make the world a better place together.
Check out these organizations below if you’re a knitter or crocheter, or search the internet for a charitable organization that can use the skills you have and enjoy!
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