Start knitting for 67 Blankets

IF you are searching for a festive gift and have no idea what to get your friend, colleague or family member, how about a ball of wool and a crochet hook? It could change their life.

That’s exactly what happened to 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day founder Carolyn Steyn, who was challenged by the late president Nelson Mandela’s assistant, Zelda le Grange, to make 67 blankets for Nelson Mandela Day.

She agreed, but it wasn’t until her sister gave her a ball of wool and a crochet hook for Christmas some months later that Carolyn took on the challenge that would go on to change her life, as well as the lives of thousands of people across South Africa.

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Now, some nine years later, the award-winning dynamo, which is Carolyn Steyn, continues to drive what has become a global movement to keep needy people warm in the cold winter months.

67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day has made and donated thousands of blankets to orphans, street children, the elderly and other people in need over the years, and the quest to warm the nation continues apace.

Next year, 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela is going local for its annual blanket collection campaign. And there’s no time to lose! Hashtagged #LocalBlanketsIsLekka, the NPO’s 2023 blanket drive will see 67 Blankets’ KnitWits (their volunteers) and ambassadors going all out to show off the blankets made by their region. And KwaZulu-Natal is already knitting and crocheting its way to keeping hundreds of people warm next winter.

67 Blankets is made up of volunteers from across South Africa who knit and crochet blankets for needy people who would otherwise be cold in winter.

Before the blankets are donated, they are usually displayed in all their riotously glorious colours at a central South African venue. But in 2023, 67 Blankets is going local, with reveal events planned for across the country.

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A growing number of keen KnitWits are joining in the fun in KZN, and the air is thick with excitement as volunteers busily work towards hundreds of blankets for the needy for June 2023. And it’s not a moment too soon to start working on a square or even a blanket. Handmade blankets take time and commitment. Every stitch, an act of kindness. Every blanket, a gift of love.

67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day invites the people of KZN, regardless of age, gender, creed or race, to get involved and help keep someone warm in winter. Get your friends together to make a communal blanket. Encourage your children to learn the crafts of crochet and knitting.

Get your school, your book club, your place of worship and your colleagues involved. Spend time creating something for someone you’ll probably never meet, and feel the rewards that flow from giving, sharing and community and from being kind to a needy child, or someone who is disabled or the elderly in need.

Anyone who would like to learn to knit or crochet can consult YouTube for a wide range of crochet and knitting tutorials.

To find out more about how you can get involved, email info@67blankets.co.za or go to 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day (South Africa) on Facebook.

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