I love Instagram. Not just for peeking into all sorts of interesting lives and scrolling through inspiring photos from other makers, but for something I had not anticipated.
I love it for just that… the unanticipated unexpected connections you make.
Last week I made one of those. Through a series of events I met a group of five girls doing a very cool thing.
These five girls, four in middle school and one in third grade had started a group called Creatures4Care. What they do is said best in their own words. Here is how their Instagram bio reads:
“We are a group of 5 girls whose goal is to give handmade stuffed animals to people who don’t have enough resources to get them themselves.”
The idea is so sweet and the creatures, well they are even sweeter.
Eva, who is now thirteen, founded the group with her two sisters. The group consists of the sisters and two friends; the youngest member is going into third grade. Four of them crochet little creatures and one of them knits. Their mom, a graphic designer designed their logo.
“We started Creatures For Care in 2012 when we saw some crocheted stuffed animals and my sister and I wanted to try making our own. Our two friends and little sister came into the picture a few months later.
“We have a lot of bears, dogs and cats, but we have also done narwhals, frogs, and koalas. The way we find children varies.”
To date, they have made and donated about 100 creatures to children in places like Catholic Charities and Family Promise. Family Promise shelters homeless families in local churches. Phoebe&Egg has donated many dolls to the Family Promise chapter in our area.
“Most of the yarn we have has been given as Christmas/Hanukkah presents from various relatives, and it is the same situation with our pattern books. Occasionally one of our followers on Instagram donates us a pattern, which they email to us.”’
Besides yarn and patterns the girls would like more Instagram followers.
A few of the the Creatures
The girls making a donation at Catholic Charities