Wool for Ukraine

It now seems a long time since we started the Wool for Ukraine Programme in April 2022. In the days and months that have passed more than a tonne of wool was donated as well as a large number of needles, spindles, weaving frames from all over the World. Really! We have dedicated followers that have groups in the USA and across Europe and donations from as far away as New Zealand and Australia. We importantly support 4 groups in Ukraine, one of which is specifically for Children.

Many of the groups have become very well established and our group based in Zywiec has transformed so that now we provide professional training and support as the "Ladies" of the craft circle are turning into a social enterprise to provde an income for themselves and their families. 

Skills development has always been an important element of the project and your donated monies have become important to provide expertise to teach wool crafting skills and enable these Ukrainian refugees to start a new career. Some of our refugees that started knitting for therapeutical reasons are now on 12-18 month vocational training courses

SO MONEY IS STILL  NEEDED! We need it for special wools for projects.  We need it to provide transport costs of wool donations which we send to our 10 European Groups and to two USA based groups. We need monies to pay the customs duties on some of the wool and other materials donated to us. We need monies for the marketing of the wonderful things the groups make and we need monies to provide ongoing training and skills development.

We are now in a busy time in the run up to Winter/Christmas markets  where much of the effort of the groups will be turned intp additonal funds and some of the groups are urgently producing winter wear for the winter in Ukraine to be given away.  Your support has been very appreciated and we hope that you can find ways to keep supporting us over this next winter period.

As we enter the summer period our thoughts turn to Winter! A number of activities now need the support of our Glbal Giving Community.

Firstly our fund raising has been able to provide workshop and therapy sessions and to several wool groups close to oiur Foundation headquarters. These are scheduled to continue in the summer period but after the summer we need to find money for these to continue!

Secondly wool supplies continue to arrive for us to send on to groups in Poland and into Ukraine. However this again costs money in post and courier costs. We currently support 5 groups in Ukraine with materials. These groups of wonderfully talented ladies do a range of activities, including felting knitting and weaving. A number of them are focused on providing warm winter clothing for the approaching cold weather. Yes, I know it sounds strange talking of Winter, in Summer, but we need to prepare and make!

In Zywiec more than 20 Ukrainian ladies are now also in proper skills training workshops that will enable them to develop a career in wool crafting this programme also needs your support. We hope to showcase their work in a textile fair again in Germany this September, where we are also pledged wool supplies from German crafters, but we go if we can raise the travel costs involved.

In short, the good work goes on not only in Poland, the USA ( Port Townsend and the Bay Area particularly)  but  also in Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia and Iceland and of course our bravest of brave in Ukraine itself.