Tempe Yarn's Chrysalis Charity Project - Great People Great Results

You hear stories almost daily about how the downturn in the economy has caused people across the country to cut back on donations, and how people simply don't care about others like they once did. Well, I'm here to tell you that this simply isn't so with the big-hearted customers of Tempe Yarn & Fiber.

In July, Tempe Yarn & Fiber announced that it had selected Chrysalis* as its charity for the months of August and September. The challenge was for customers to make Booga Bags and donate personal items to be included in the bags for the Chrysalis Women's Shelter in the Phoenix metro area.



Every Monday night for the past two months, groups of customers met at the shop to work on making bags. Based on the number of people who actually came into the shop, we expected to get about 25 Booga bags for the ladies at the shelter. Little did we know how many people were knitting the bags without coming into the shop. As the deadline neared for the collection, more and more bags starting showing up.

On October 5th, Tempe Yarn turned fifty (50) completed Booga bags and six large boxes of personal items to Jody, a representative from the Chrysalis Women’s Shelter.

Jody stated, "Many of the women who come into the shelter have nothing more than the clothes on their backs. When the community reaches out like this and gives them something handmade, it gives them hope that someone out there cares about them and their future."
The customers who made these bags cut across the age, economic and social spectrum, but all had one thing in common: the desire to give back to the community. We are proud to have been a part of growing the community of caring at Tempe Yarn & Fiber.

The next charity challenge involves Supporting Our Troops. For more information see tempeyarn.com .

*Chrysalis
Over twenty-seven years ago, a woman opened up her home as a safe house for both women and children who had been victimized by domestic violence. Within three years, funding was received to expand these services into a 24-hour crisis shelter. The shelter was appropriately named Chrysalis – defined as the growth that creates an independent being. Chrysalis programs now include two crisis shelters, transitional housing, outpatient counseling, victim advocacy, legal advocacy, and community education and prevention programs. Chrysalis helps close to 1,400 individuals annually. Often, when women and children come into shelter they bring nothing more than the clothes on their backs.