Be The Change...

Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  The quote is often stated as, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”  Or as “We must be the change that we wish to see in the world.”  Whether it’s you or we, wish or want is irrelevant.  What is relevant is what this quote is telling us.  And no quote has affected me more in my life.

It is the last thing that I think of before I fall to sleep every night.  It’s the third thing that I think of when I wake up in the morning (right after “bathroom” and “water”, c’mon, I’m only human).

There are tons of changes that I would like to see in the world.  I also recognize that I can only make one of them at a time.  Small changes.  Small changes that will hopefully become great changes.  And so, here is one way that I would like to be the change.  And I’d like to ask you to join me, should you desire.

This year, I am participating in the 2011 Special Olympics Scarf Project from www.redheart.com.

This project asks knitters and crocheters to make scarves for the participants (and volunteers) of the Special Olympics.  Special Olympics programs in 34 states are participating.  The program is sponsored by Red Heart Yarn.

***A note to cynics:  You may be thinking, big deal, what kind of change is that?  A scarf.  So what, so he gets a warm neck, what kind of difference can that make? 

Let me explain.  I cannot express enough how important a feeling of unity, of community, is to the individuals who are involved in the Special Olympics.  Often, these special individuals spend much of their time feeling less “special” and more “different”.  The Special Olympics is designed to give these athletes a place where they feel that they belong. 

The concept behind these scarves is to increase that sense of unity.  That may seem small to most of us, but it can be a huge thing to these athletes. 

So, I make a scarf (I plan on making 10 - 20, actually).  That scarf aids in creating a sense of unity for the one athlete that receives it.  Hopefully, that feeling of unity will carry with him or her until next year, when he or she gets another scarf.  But, maybe, it lasts for just one day.  I’m OK with that as well.  Even if the feeling lasts for only one day, that means that I made a positive difference in one heart of one person for one day.  And that’s enough for me.  That’s “being the change”. 

If you do not know how to knit or crochet, but would still like to participate, I invite you to join my Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day blog ($0.99 per month) where I give instructions from the very basics of crocheting.  I will also be giving patterns and lessons on making these scarves.

You can use any pattern that you want.  It can be knit or crochet.  As for crochet patterns, I will have one or two available here.  They will be the same patterns as on my Learn to Crochet blog (so, if you already know how to crochet, don’t waste your money to get the patterns.

There are also a few simple patterns (beginner through intermediate) of each (knit and crochet) listed on the Red Heart website under the Special Olympics tab.

There are some rules for this project:

1.  You MUST use the two colors that have been selected as the Special Olympics colors for this year.  This year those colors are Red Heart Super Saver color #866 (Blue) and Red Heart Super Saver color #512 (Turqua).  These yarns, and some sample patterns are available at this link.

2.  You MUST use both colors in each scarf.  This may seem odd, why not allow for scarves of one color or the other?  The reason is actually a very sweet one.  Using both colors in each scarf will create a sense of unity with the scarves.  Because they are allowing different patterns and different methods (knit or crochet), color is the one unifier.  They want the scarves to create a sense of unity and community between the athletes and the volunteers.  It is designed to create a sense of being a part of a larger movement.  Which they are, and they deserve to feel so.

3.  Each scarf must be between 54 and 60 inches long.

4.  Each scarf must be 6 inches wide.

5.  Each scarf must be enclosed in an individual ziplock bag (for sanitary reasons)

6.  Multiple scarves may be shipped in each box, but only one per ziplock bag.

7.  Please include a 3 x 5 inch index card in the box containing your name and mailing address.  Email address is optional (I believe that the index card is solely for protecting the recipients, should there be something bad in the baggie, they would know where it came from, you get the idea).  DO NOT include your name or any identifying information in the individual baggies.

8.  You may include a note of well-wishes in the baggie, as long as it doesn’t contain any identifying information.

9.  Donations must be postmarked by the deadline for each state.  I will be posting these dates in a future entry (although there are 3 states with deadlines in the end of December - Indiana, Virginia, and North Dakota).  The earliest deadline is December 24 (Indiana), and the latest deadline is February 25 (several states).  For more information on the deadlines, you can stay tuned to this blog or check out the Scarves for Special Olympics website.

Should you not live in a participating state, or should you miss the deadline for your state, I would encourage you to send your items to another state on the list.

Some states need as few as 30 scarves.  Other states need as many as 4500.  The total number of scarves needed for all 34 states is 32,130.  The states have varying deadlines.  I will be posting both the number of scarves needed and the deadlines by state sometime in the next week.  During December, the Scarves for Special Olympics website will start updating exactly how many scarves have been received, in order to let donors know whether or not they still need scarves.  I will update readers as the numbers become available.

My personal plan is to start making the scarves.  I’d like to be able to send one to each state, but I just don’t think that I can make that many.  So, I am going to start making a scarf, in hopes of being able to send it to Indiana (not my home state - just the first state on the list).  Should I miss the deadline for Indiana, then I will simply send my scarf to the next state on the list.  For me, it’s not about my state, it’s about the program as a whole.  So, I am taking advantage of the spread out deadlines to send my scarves to different programs in different states.  I hope that you will do the same.

Now, all I need is my 20 skeins of yarn (10 of each color) that I ordered today.  As soon as they arrive, it’s on!

***A note to those who will be joining me in participating in this great cause:  the color choices change from year to year.  These colors are for the 2011 Special Olympics only (December 2010 through February 2011) so please plan your yarn purchases accordingly.

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Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.