MANY THANKS FROM ROSE OF SHARON

March 17, 2009

Dear Ms. Karamath,

We would like to sincerely thank you for your recent donation of knitted and crochet baby items and recipes with hand cloths for the auction we held at our ls` Annual Rosie's Act One, Rose of Sharon's cabaret theatre event. The members of `Casting off the Cold' have been extremely generous to families at Rose of Sharon over the past two years. Special thanks to Tracy Jennrich, Pat Thompson, Nayana Shah and Kim Van Blarcom for their direct contribution to these auction items. We appreciate all of the work that your group achieves for our young moms and their babies.

Your generosity allows us to continue to uphold our mandate - to provide supports and services to pregnant and parenting women under the age of 25 living in York Region. Your gift will touch many lives - thank you!

It is through your support and the support of others that our young mothers and students are able to improve their lives and experience positive change.

"Rose of Sharon not only helped me be the best mother I can be, but it also helped me realize I can still fulfill my dreams" Rose of Sharon Student

On behalf of the Board of Rose of Sharon Services for Young Mothers, our agency staff, and of course the mothers and their children - many thanks for your generous contribution.
Sincerely,

Anna Pavan

Executive Director

PROJECT LINUS

On February 27, 2009, we donated 12 preemie blankets to Project linus.
We will like to donate a lot more blankets in the future, so we are asking you out there for some help!! If you have some time on your hands, and can knit or crochet, all it takes is one blanket from each one of you to make a HUGE difference. For more info you can contact me, Sally at castingoffthecold@gmail.com . Or you can go to http://www.castingoffthecold.weebly.com/ and you will find a list of items and sizes we need. I hope to hear from you soon!!

ROSE OF SHARON FUNDRASIER

February 17th Rose of Sharon will be holding a fundraiser, and we were ask to take part by donating item for their baby baskets, which would be auctioned off.
Some of the ladies from the group got their needle and hooks working so we could make the dead line. Here are some of the beautiful clothing that were donated.

Casting off The Cold would like to wish Rose of Sharon the very best in their Fundraiser.


From Tracy



Also Tracy's

Another from Tracy.


A sweater and bibs from Pat.

This baby outfit is from Nayana.


And these are some dish clothes and recipes for the non cook basket from Kim.

Bata Shoe Museum Sock Knitting Workshop

On January 25, four members of Casting Off the Cold held a workshop at the Bata

Shoe Museum to teach experienced knitters how to make socks.

We had twelve students in all, some of whom preferred crocheting to knitting, so Tracy held a small class to teach crocheting socks. Thanks a million, Tracy; we know socks aren't on your list of favourites.

Even though we were limited to a 5-hour session, a few of our students managed to finish a whole sock, and they were all pleased to have mastered a new technique. We presented each one of our participants with a Certificate at the end of the session, and many were very interested in what Casting Off the Cold is doing.

Thanks to the participants, the Bata Shoe Museum and our members for organizing and taking part. Click below to see a short video of the event.

Here's Tracy with the youngest student in the class:

Here are some more pictures from the workshop.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Now that the festive season is upon us, we'd like to thank everyone who has made a contribution of any sort to Casting Off the Cold in 2008.

Whether you have knit or crocheted some items, donated yarn or supplies, or even helped somebody with a project, your contribution will ultimately reach someone in need in our community or in the GTA. And that's what we're all about.

Of course, our greatest thanks goes out to the anonymous donors who provide so many of the pieces we donate. We may never meet you personally, but please know that we sincerely appreciate all you do for our cause without attaching your name to it. We'd love to be able to thank you in person at one of our meetings!

From Sally and the Casting Off the Cold committee, we wish all of our members and donors a wonderful, safe and happy Holiday Season, and all the best in the New Year!

BATA SHOE MUSEUM DEMO

On November 13, some of the members of Casting Off the Cold were on hand at the Bata Shoe Museum for the kickoff of their 'Warming the Sole' campaign for 2008. The Museum holds a sock drive every year in support of a number of downtown charities, and this year added a silent auction of artwork to boost their dontation. Casting Off the Cold members knit the socks for the auction, and a number of local TV celebrities decorated them. The photos below show some of the finished products that were up for auction.




Siobhan, Sally, Monica and Pat, who represented Casting Off the Cold at the Bata Shoe Museum. The Museum staff kindly put up an information poster to showcase who we are and what we do.

The finished products, on display for the auction. Some of the socks didn't even look like socks any more! Our celebrities certainly used their imaginations in support of the Bata Shoe Museum and their cause.

Thanks to the Bata Shoe Museum for asking us to take part in their sock drive in such a unique way. We hope to be part of it again next year!

2008 Donation!

On Sunday, Octber 26, Casting Off the Cold made its 2008 donation at the Markham Library. Of the ten charities we support, representatives from eight were on hand to accept the bags of knitted and crocheted items we have been gathering since late last year.

Many of the group members were on hand to hear how thrilled our charities were with the amount and quality of the items they picked up. It was a real joy for us to be able to talk to them and find out what each organization does and what kinds of items they need the most.

The event was covered by Snap!Markham, a local community newspaper, as well as by CityTV. The CityTV segment aired as the 'Liveable City' item on CP24 on October 26 and during the 6:00 CityTV Newscast on Wednesday, October 29, and highlighted the more than 1,500 items we donated.

Many, many thanks to everyone in the group and the donors who so kindly gave finished goods and yarns to our cause. We truly couldn't do this without your help!

Now that the 2008 donation has been made, we have a long list for 2009!! Get those needles and hooks out; we've got a lot to do. We'll have a list of requested items at our next meeting, so if you're looking to start a new project, come and see us on December 7th at the Markham Library.