When the going gets tough ...

... the tough hit their sewing machines. Meet me at Mikes is leading the Handmade Help campaign to make soft toys and handmade items for those affected. Now is the ideal time to try and make that quilt or use up those left over scraps on a handmade piece that people will truely love. For me ... (once I have finished my shop orders), I will be trying my hand at a soft toy or two ... why not!

Tips and Hints if you are donating clothes and goods

Make sure that you sort your clothes into Ladies, Gentlemen, Kids (sizes). Label your bags with the sizes you have (Ladies size 12, Kids size 3 etc). This will make it easier for the relief centers to sort your donations into their system when the call goes out to donate. At the moment charities are inundated with donated goods that they have to sort, so if you can help, donate a few hours to help sort through things.

Sort your kitchen items and everyday items into labeled boxes (eg. eating, cooking, cleaning). Again, this is so that the relief centres can sort your items quickly and easily.

Make sure that your clothes are washed and ready to go. I know that this is a no-brainer ... but sometimes we put clothes back into our closets that haven't been worn much. If in doubt, chuck them into the washer and makes sure they are nice and clean for the people getting them. The last thing the relief centres need is clothes that need to be washed ....

Look for donated goods that are going to make life a little more comfortable. Towels, sanitary products (sealed), deodorant (sealed) , perfume, razors, hair ties - anything to make life more comfortable for those who are doing it tough. It might be nice to sort these into groups for ladies (sanitary products and perfume) and gentlemen (razor, aftershave) etc. Of course, if your donated items are not sorted that is ok too ... just Margaret putting her crafty slant on things!

Here are some other ideas for helping out:

• Rainbow Comfort packs for little ones effected by the bush fires
• Donate blood .. I hear that the blood banks are all booked out for the next two weeks, so perhaps make an appointment in a few weeks time to donate. Keep an eye on the web site for mobile blood banks that might come to a shopping centre near you!
  
• 3AW's Fire Assistance Directory - listing people who are happy to help and drop off donations or people who are opening their homes to fire affected people.
• 774 Offer Help Blog - listing people who are willing to help others.
• OurCommunity has a list of information links on where you can help along with deposit details for every bank in Australia.
• The Toy Society are offering to collect handmade toys for the kids effected by the fires.

Lastly ... say a prayer in what ever faith you support for those who are in the burns unit at the Alfred. Their recovery will be long and painful.