Hi,
This is George, the Cause for Crafting spokes-baby with a special request for my fellow one-year olds.  Please remind the adults in your life that they should remember to check out Cause for Crafting when they need a baby gift.  Right now Cause for Crafting has clutch balls, which in my opinion are the perfect baby gift.  When you give your pitch to the adults explaining why clutch balls are the perfect gift, here are a few points you will want to make.

1. Clutch balls are small.  They don't occupy three quarters of the living room floor.  They fit easily in a diaper bag.
2. They are washable.  Remind them of all the times your adults have appreciated the items in your life that are easy to clean.  I'm sure you can think of many examples. Though, it might be best not to remind them of the spaghetti sauce incident.
3. They are chewable and soft.  Believe me, soft is an important feature when your older sibling forgets that you are not actually very good at playing catch.  I just laughed it off when I was beaned in the head by a wild pitch.
4. A clutch ball will be used longer than a lot of other baby gifts,  Remind them of how fast you grew out of all those cute little newborn outfits.
5.  It's win-win.  It's a gift and a donation that will help toddlers not as fortunate as you.

You may be thinking, how do I say all that when my command of language is so limited.  Well, here's what you should do.   Crawl or toddle over to your toy collection and find a ball.   If you can't find a ball amongst your toys look under the couch.  I've found some amazing stuff under the couch.  Say, "ball."  It doesn't matter if you enunciate the "l" sound.  Repeat this several times since adults don't always pay attention the first time you say something.  Surround the word ball with lots of random sounds.  The particular sounds you make are not important.  Just remember to vary pitch and intonation and to make eye contact.  They will think you know what you are saying whether you do or not.  Give them a smile and a giggle and they will be putty in your hands.

George
PS  Ask your adults to share this post to get Cause for Crafting's mission out there.  If you know any adults who like to create items that they would like to donate to a good cause of their choosing. tell them to contact Cause for Crafting and we'll explain how easy it can be.  (There is a contact form on the website.) 

This morning we were happy to see that our headbands are featured on the Race for Hope Facebook Page.  The post already produced and order so twenty more dollars will be going to the National Brain Tumor Society.

Five headbands ordered from Etsy.
Five headbands heading out in the mail.
Thirty dollars raised for Race for Hope.
As many of you know who are following this blog, has become an annual tradition for our family.  As we run or walk or cheer on the 5K fundraiser that takes place in Washington DC each spring our family and the friends who join us give the thumbs down to brain cancer.  The fight against brain cancer has been personal for us and it is a cutting edge clinical trial that has allowed my daughter to keep brain cancer at bay.  The Race for Hope raises funds for the National Brain Tumor Society which advocates for and funds research.   The National Brain Tumor Society, we are happy to say, is a highly rated charity on Charity Navigator.
  

Some of the fun in sewing a small craft like the baby clutch ball is sorting through my collection of small pieces of cloth and finding the colors and patterns that seem to "go just right."  My good friend Connie gave me several packets of 1/4 yard fabric cuts.  You have to be the type of person who has an emotional bond with their sewing machine to understand why this was such a great present.  My sewing machine (which happens to be a Pfaff brand) and I are very close.  I call her "Edith Pfaff" and when she hums along it is music to my ears.   (My apologies for the puns.)

Above are some of my recent fabric picks.  If you know someone who would like to purchase a clutch ball with a particular color combination, contact me through the web site or Etsy.  I might be able to find the desired colors or patterns.
Kathy Turk

Okay - entering new territory here!  This is my first blog and this is my first  blog entry. 
 
I thought I should start my blogging journey with a brief explanation of why A Cause for Crafting was created.   My son-in-law, Shah, who has worked with nonprofits and is pursuing a masters degree in nonprofit management and I started discussing the idea for A Cause for Crafting when I found myself sewing more items than I could actually use or give as gifts. I also have been involved with volunteer activities and knew what most organizations need is funding.  We realized what applied to me might also apply to others and we began thinking about ways to develop an outlet to combine this excess creativity with a way to help the community.  

We knew we wanted to create an organization that would function as an efficient nonprofit in order to maximize the funds that are earned for the charities.  Transparency is important to us.   That is why we post the dollar amount that will be contributed for each item and indicate the charity to which these funds are being sent.  We wanted to create a broad reach for both  craft persons that went beyond traditional vehicles such as craft sales and person to person sales.  The sales transactions should be simple.  We felt the craft person, who is donating the item they have made to a cause they care about should find this a stress free process.   A picture and a bit of information about the craft, the charity, and mailing requirements should be all the craft person needs to provide.  In the process of providing a vehicle for craft persons to donate and sell their creations for charity we wanted to provide a platform for the many charities and volunteers involved with those charities to let others know about the good work that they are doing.   When Shah and I looked around we did not find any other groups that were doing exactly what we wanted to do.

From a very personal perspective, why was I sewing a multitude of baby clutch balls from brightly colored scraps of material?  Loosing yourself in the creative process can be a comfort in the face of adversity.  I know others who have felt the same.  It sounds cliche, but good people working together, are what makes the world a better place.  And then again, making stuff, and actually selling it, can be a lot of fun!

​Kathy Turk