"We are thankful for the Hallmark Channel's generous donation and support for the Foundation," said Jenny Bessonette, Executive Director of Warm Up America! Foundation and Craft Yarn Council.

Warm Up America! touches us at our core in a time when we're all looking for things that are meaningful," expressed Mike Rosen, Evie Rosen's son. "There aren't many things that move people so deeply, whether you're the giver or the receiver. It is even more meaningful knowing these blankets arrive in the arms of individuals who are experiencing some of the lowest points in their lives.

Warm Up America! (WUA!) was founded by Evie Rosen in 1991. Evie enjoyed making blankets for the homeless, but found she couldn’t fulfill the need fast enough. Her vision was to provide an innovative way for donated 7″ by 9″ knitted and crocheted sections to be joined together to make finished blankets.

A group of knitters and crocheters assemble at a local community shelter and hand out colorfully unique clothing and blankets to people in need. Events like this have taken place in communities all over the county for years. If they happened in the last 30 years, chances are they were sponsored by national nonprofit Warm Up America!

That call has not changed in the New Year, in fact, it is stronger than ever as members of the Y’s Crochet Club hosted its first-ever Made With Love event at The HOPE Center in Toms River on January 6. This initiative was made possible through the efforts of Warm Up America! – a national nonprofit based out of Dallas that spearheads the annual initiative.

She began reaching out to different organizations, finally teaming with Warm Up America!, a non-profit that knits and crochets afghans and clothing for those in need.

Warm Up America! is always accepting handmade knit, crochet or loom 7×9″ sections, any size blankets, hats, scarves, gloves/mittens and other clothing items all year round. You can either do a project for a specific campaign or send in items at any time.

A stitch in time can help a lot of folks. Warm Up America is looking for volunteers to knit and crochet blankets for people in need.

Organizations like “Warm Up America” send knitted hats (and more) to people in need.

For the knitters out there, you’ve probably reached capacity for scarves and hats to give your family at this point, so keep yourself busy by creating pieces for those in need. Warm Up America highlights organizations seeking donations and lists the top needed items, so you know your creations will go to good use.

One group that is responsible is Warm Up America!. The group provides warm hand-knitted and crocheted hats, scarves, blankets and more to thousands of people in need across Dallas and the country.

Warm Up America, based out of Texas, has volunteers in Des Moines and other parts of the state dropping off the warm little surprises. Shannon Walderbach, a volunteer with Warm Up America, says they’ve put out 700 in Des Moines.

Warm Up America exceeded its goal of $2,000 and raised a total of $3,005. The donations will help the nonprofit to send hats, scarves and blankets to patients at Parkland Hospital. Sarah Guenther-Moore, public relations coordinator, said the organization hopes to increase the number of patients it can serve as well as find more organization to partner with.

Warm Up America has donated more than 1 million afghan blankets and clothing items to people in need since 1992, according to their website, www.warmupamerica.org.

The event was organized by Lewis, a former leader of troop #1944. For the past four years, Lewis has been volunteering with a Dallas-based charity called Warm Up America! whose mission is to provide warmth to people in need. With an influx of hats, gloves and scarves, the non-profit asked its volunteers across the country to find local organizations that would be able to distribute these goods to those who need it most.

A Carrollton non-profit organization passed out free hats, scarves, gloves and mittens to people in need in Dallas Saturday. The Warm up America! Foundation usually hangs the items on trees and fences in low income communities.

The event was sponsored by the Dallas-based nonprofit group Warm Up America! The group disperses thousands of handmade winter clothes nationwide through its “Made With Love” events with the help of volunteers such as Kirsten’s mom, Cassie Lewis.

Carrollton nonprofit, Warm Up America's ‘Made With Love’ event will share some love and warmth with people who might not have a hat or pair of gloves to keep them warm. Planned for Saturday, the event will leave knitted and crocheted hats, scarves and gloves with tags that say: “Take me, I’m yours!” hanging from trees and fences in neighborhoods in Dallas for people to take and use to keep warm.

Tiny Hats Saving Babies in Africa

Organization donates handmade hats and mittens to KOATS for Kids drive

Warm Up Medina County, based on Warm Up America, a program that brings people together to learn to knit and crochet, and allows experienced knitters to share their talents. Since 2004 MCDL knitters have donated more than 9,750 items to local organizations.

Our best estimate is that between 10,000 to 100,000 volunteers country-wide are working on Warm Up America! initiatives at any time. We currently have several ongoing initiatives and campaigns, including our Build-A-Bed program with Morehead State University, our partnership with Parkland Hospital in Dallas, our work with Hills Bros., our partnership with the Los Angeles Youth Network and more.

While their mission might not be official, since this as-yet-unnamed knitting group began meeting last month on Thursday mornings in the main room at Miller, those involved have produced a substantial quantity of hats, scarves and especially 7-by-9-inch squares that are sent to the charity Warm Up America to be made into blankets.

If you happen to be driving around near downtown Fort Worth this Saturday, don’t be surprised if you spot some colorful decor hanging along fences and trees. It’s all part of Warm Up America!’s annual Made With Love event, which distributes hand-knitted and crocheted items in public places to those in need of a little warmth during the cold weather season. Some of the items distributed include hats and scarves, as well as sweaters, gloves and mittens.

Dionne Pinder, with Warm Up America!, showed us bags of afghans that had already been dropped off Friday morning.