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Monthly Anniversary Celebration!
May – April showers bring May flowers! Crocuses and daffodils are popping up everywhere! Knit or crochet something this month that is the color of your favorite flower, or the first flower you see this spring.
Maybe you could stitch a flower onto that hat or blanket? |
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Dear Friends, We are THRILLED to announce that our annual Create-A-Thon is almost here! We are running it a bit earlier this year because June is officially our 20 year anniversary!
From June 1–14, we will celebrate community, compassion, and creativity as we work toward two important goals: raising $8,500 and collecting 3,000 handmade items to prepare for the cold weather months ahead and our summer deliveries to Africa. We are asking specifically for the following items during the CAT: • Baby Blankets with a 26" minimum
• Peace Pals, especially medium to dark skin tone. Pals with hijabs are badly needed. Remember to match your hijab to your pal before donating!
• Hats of all sizes- remember nothing smaller than a 13' circumference.
This year’s Create-A-Thon also includes three special virtual events you won’t want to miss:
• June 2 — Yoga Workshop: A relaxing and restorative session to begin the Create-A-Thon with intention. Register Here
• June 9 — Anniversary Community Craft Circle: A special edition of our beloved gathering as we celebrate our anniversary year together. Register Here
• June 11 — Delivery Highlight Panel: Hear powerful stories from our delivery partners and learn about the real impact your support makes, with time for questions and conversation. Register Here
Whether you knit, crochet, donate, or simply cheer us on, your support helps bring comfort and compassion to people who need it most.
Thank you for being part of this meaningful work. With gratitude,
Kelly & the Team
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The Create-A-Thon begins June 1 but you can get an early start by donating below! |
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Community Member of the Month: Julie Meyers |
This month, we are delighted to introduce you to the amazing Julie Meyers, an east coast native whose journey as a knitter began when she was just five years old. Julie’s Mom was a beautiful knitter and taught Julie to make squares from leftover yarn. Keeping the squares in a large box, it was years before she made them in to an afghan, but she finally succeeded. Julie fondly remembers that when her older brother went off to college, her mom knit an afghan designed specifically to fit his dorm room bed. Many years later, Julie followed the same tradition, knitting large blankets for her own two children to take to college with them. Julie worked on the blankets outdoors during the annual summer camp her family attended. Other knitters joined her and they would sit on the camp’s large front porch, busily working and chatting. Many were inspired to make blankets for their own children. This intrepid group (now going on 50 years!) continued to grow and eventually chose to make blankets for every camper who graduated from high school. A whole new generation of knitters and crocheters sprang from this effort as teenagers and children joined the group and began their own crafting journeys.
Julie’s relationship with Knitting4Peace began over twenty years ago while she was still living in Rhode Island. She had been donating items locally when she became aware of Knitting4Peace, and began sending some of her handmade items to Denver. When a family move brought Julie to Denver, she connected with Susan McKee, K4P founder, and began attending Susan’s knitting group in Park Hill. Julie had recently retired from her career as a pediatrician and Susan seized on the opportunity to entice Julie to help with the K4P Intake process. Julie later joined the Knitting4Peace Board and even took a stint as the K4P Board Chair.
Fortunately for us, Julie’s enthusiasm for Knitting4Peace has not waned over the years as she continues to regularly work with the K4P Intake team--opening boxes, counting items, and logging donations. She also has taken on the task of scheduling our Intake volunteers. Julie explained her passion around the Intake process by sharing “It’s like Christmas as you can’t believe all the beautiful things people send in. There is so much creativity and people are so generous. You get to know the names of our regular contributors and just feel the connection.” Julie added that she loves seeing the beautiful patterns makers use and she often asks if they will share their patterns.
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Julie says that she loves the mission of Knitting4Peace and believes that it is so important to help people who don’t get a lot of love and attention from the community. She enjoys the freedom to knit whatever she’s in the mood to knit and to make decisions about how to best use the yarn she has. Julie finds joy in knowing that an item doesn’t have to fit a specific person, as it does when you’re making an item for a friend or family member, but that there will be someone who will love it. She loves making hats, scarves and baby blankets. Julie also occasionally makes mittens, as she knows how needed they are but does find them to be a bit “fussy” so they are not her favorites. Still, she knows that they can keep precious hands warm so it is worth it!
Julie is such a busy, creative, and multi-faceted individual! We are grateful for each item she makes, for her leadership with our Intake team, and for her ongoing, long-standing dedication to Knitting4Peace. Thanks, Julie, for all you do and for being our April Community Member of the Month! |
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Pals with hijabs and infant items |
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Item Requests: Peace Pals, especially with hijabs; All infant items
Our need for Peace Pals is year-round and they are one of our most popular items. Children love being able to “see” themselves in the Peace Pals they receive. Our Community Partners tell us how meaningful it is that we share Pals in various skin tones and those with unique features, like glasses. We have a special need for Peace Pals who wear hijabs. Please consider checking out the patterns for making a Peace Pal with a hijab!
Infant items—blankets, hats, and booties—are always in high demand. We’ve been receiving more blankets than ever before but the need continues to grow so please keep sending them in! |
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Consistency is Key: Infant Items We are receiving numerous requests for infant items from a variety of groups. We are grateful to you for helping to meet this need. Please note that we are currently unable to accept any preemie items so please do not send those in.
Here’s a few friendly reminders of our guidelines:
Small infant blankets should be between 26” and 30” on all sides. Please do not send any blankets that are smaller than this! These blankets are sent to NICU units and to some international programs. Avoid making blankets that are lacey or have holes as tiny fingers, toes, or IV tubes may get caught in them.
Large baby blankets are more flexibly sized, ranging from 30”-52”. These are requested by several different programs. Small and large baby blankets may be knitted, crocheted, or quilted. Infant hats must have a circumference of 13” or larger. This means that they must be 6.5” in diameter. Hats up to 18” circumference (9” diameter) are worn by children younger than age 3. We love seeing all the fun colors and yarns you use! However, the smallest sized hats are best made with soft yarns. Booties should be 3”- 4” from heel to toe and may be made with any soft and washable yarn. Please use a piece of yarn to tie pairs together. Do not use safety pins as these must be removed. Animal hair and strong scents can be a health risk, especially for infants and young children so please make sure there are no hairs or scents on any item you send us. |
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ANNOUNCING THE 2025 K4P ANNUAL REPORT |
This year’s annual report is more than a collection of numbers—it’s a reflection of what happens when people choose compassion, one stitch at a time.
In 2025, our community came together to create and deliver 16,893 handmade items, reaching individuals and families across 17 states and 15 countries. Each hat, blanket, and scarf represents not just warmth, but dignity, care, and a reminder that someone, somewhere, is thinking of you.
What moves me most is not just our global reach, but the consistency of this work. Nearly 31 handmade items passed through our Denver headquarters every single day. That kind of steady, quiet generosity is what truly changes lives.
Our Peace Pods, volunteers, and donors continue to show up in extraordinary ways. Because of you, we are able to direct 78% of every dollar straight to programming, ensuring that your support has real, tangible impact. And since 2006, together we’ve served nearly 280,000 people—a number that represents stories of comfort, hope, and human connection. Thank you for being part of this work. Thank you for believing that small acts of kindness matter. Together, we are creating something powerful—something that extends far beyond yarn and needles.
We are knitting peace into the world, one person at a time. Kelly |
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The Fine Print:
*Customers must have a registered King Soopers or City Market loyalty card account to link to your organization.
*If you do not yet have a King Soopers or City Market loyalty card, they are available at the customer service desk at any King Soopers or City Market
REMEMBER, purchases will not count for K4P until after your register your loyaltycard.
You must swipe your registered King Soopers or City Market loyalty card or use the phone number that is related to your registered King Soopers or City Market loyalty card when shopping for each purchase to count.
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| Have you registered with your Kroger store yet?
Please consider linking your Kroger rewards card with K4P. It's free to you and allows us a small monthly donation from the corporation.
Our assigned Kroger NPO (Non-Profit Organization) number is HL532.
To Use the King Soopers or City Market Community Rewards Program:
Simply visit the appropriate link below for your store:
For King Soopers Stores - go to http://www.kingsoopers.com
For City Market Stores - go to http://www.citymarket.com
Once logged into your King Soopers or City Market account you can search for Knitting4Peace either by name or HL532 and then click Enroll. New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a loyalty card.
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Please note: Our donation intake is run solely by volunteers. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to immediately acknowledge each package as it arrives. Remember, you can always track your package with your carrier.
Remember, mailing costs qualify as tax-deductible nonprofit donations. Keep your receipts! Due to a lack of storage, K4P cannot accept yarn donations unless they are new and still in the original wrapper.
Thank you for understanding. |
| Mail or bring items to: 2600 N. Leyden St., Denver, CO 80207
Drop-Off hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9am-12pm The church is no longer staffed by an assistant so please be sure to go during the timeframe mentioned above.
Ring the doorbell and you will be let into the church to drop off your items. EACH mailed box or dropped-off bag must include a note with the DATE, NAME, MAILING ADDRESS, E-MAIL, AND PEACE POD. Did you make a local delivery this month? Click the button below to report it and don't forget to send pics! |
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Special thanks to Park Hill Congregational Church for their continued support and allowing us to share their space in Denver. |
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HAVE A QUESTION ON HOW TO MAKE SOMETHING? ASK ARNA! |
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Are you ready to support the mission of Knitting4Peace? Donate using the button below! |
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Contact Arna@knitting4peace.org with questions about patterns and guidelines. Check out our social media posts for the latest news (links below). If you have questions about deliveries or donations please email info@knitting4peace.org. ALL donations sustain our work. Donate online or mail checks to:
2600 Leyden Street, Denver, CO 80207
Donations to Knitting4Peace are tax-deductible. |
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