Yarnspirations’ Charity Corner wants to highlight an amazing organization using crafting for good – S.A.C.K. – Supporting A Community with Kindness. Founded by Stacy Wiener in 2017, this grassroots organization provides “soap sacks” (a crocheted or knitted washcloth sack containing a bar of soap) to some of our most vulnerable communities – homeless shelters, food banks, United Way, and veterans homes to name a few. These sacks are made by volunteer stitchers, with an important requirement being that the yarn is 100% cotton. Due to the softness and ease of washing, Lily Sugar’n Cream has become a favorite for Stacy and her foundation. Stacy was inspired to start the organization while volunteering at food banks. She noticed that there was a distinct lack of soap and other essential toiletries available at these food pantries. To fill this gap, Stacy came up with the idea of crocheting or knitting cotton soap sacks to distribute and donate to local communities in need. These cotton sacks can be used as washcloths as well as a carrying bag for the bars of soap making them practical and functional for the recipients. Soap Sacks originated in New Jersey in Stacy’s home community with the vision to inspire volunteer crafters across the globe to create and donate their own soap sacks to underserved populations in their local communities. Beyond local communities, S.A.C.K. has donated sacks to international relief projects such as Eco Soap Bank, which reprocesses partially used soap from hotels into bar soap that is distributed to underserved countries across the world. S.A.C.K. has also been involved with large scale domestic initiatives including Backpacks for Life, an organization that provides personalized support systems for at-risk and homeless U.S. veterans. In just over two years, it is estimated that the network of volunteers across the country and world have made and donated over 65,000 soap sacks! In this time of need, it is more important than ever to support vulnerable communities in any way that we are able to. Soap sacks are a quick, easy, and small project that any crafter, whether you prefer knit or crochet, can whip up that could help local communities in need. The importance of using 100% cotton yarn for these soap sacks cannot be overlooked; it is soft, easily washed, and durable. Among Stacy’s favorites and most recommended is Lily Sugar’n Cream yarn which is regularly used by Stacy and the Soap Sack community to stitch with. While the patterns available on the S.A.C.K. website are recommended, you can use any pattern as long as the finished sacks are roughly 4” x 6” and have a loop or drawstring attached. Any donations of soap should be in their original individual packaging for sanitary reasons. If reading this blog has inspired you as much as this organization has inspired us, you can purchase Lily Sugar’n Cream on Yarnspirations.com and learn more at www.soapsacks.com. If you are looking for locations to donate your soap sacks locally, S.A.C.K.’s website recommends checking foodpantries.org and homelessshelterdirectory.org to find organizations in your local area you can reach out to.
