Hats for Israeli Soldiers

A Package from Home

2012-01-25T19:26:00.000+02:00

As many of you know, about half the hats I collect are distributed to lone soldiers in cooperation with a wonderful organization called "A Package from Home". Today, I had the privilege of taking part in the packing of 920 (!!) packages in Jerusalem. They contained long underwear, socks, toiletries, snacks -- and, of course, a handknit hat. Within 2.5 hours all the packages were packed and soldiers were coming to pick them up in trucks. If you're not a knitter and want to know how you can donate funds or items to A Package from Home, check out their website.

And now for some photos...

the bags of labeled hats arrive in Jeru.

Each table is an assembly line that begins with hats

volunteer packers

more volunteers

some finished packages

soldiers come to collect the packages

Barbara Silverman, founder of A Package from Home

YouTube, MeTube

2012-01-25T18:31:00.001+02:00

Here's a short 2.5 minute video about me & the hats:

It's quite strange to see and hear yourself on film but I agreed to do it because I do want this project to be "out there". Yes, I know they didn't spell my name correctly all the way through but other than that, I think it tells the story pretty well. Happy to hear your comments, and feel free to share it with others (please also inform any interested knitters that they can download the official pattern from this page). Thanks!

What's in a Hat?

2011-12-19T18:59:00.003+02:00

The trunk of my car

Dear Knitters,
In the past few weeks, your hats have gone out to cold soldiers serving in Hebron, the Golan and the Negev. The soldiers have been very, very grateful and I, too, want to say: thank you!

Many of the hat knitters have fascinating personal stories that they've shared with me over the years. They are at least as touching as the fact that your hats keep on coming. As a Chanukah gift, I'd like to share two recent ones with you.

1. From a woman in Canada who has sent many hats over the years:

I picked up this last batch of hats from a lady who lives in a retirement village in Toronto. The lady who heads up this project is 79 years old. She is a holocaust survivor with much life experience. At one of the camps during the war, she and her sister were split up -- she risked her life by grabbing her sister from the arms of a nazi and saved her sister, and the stories go on. She is assisted in this project by a 97-year-old and a 90-year-old. These 3 ladies and about 15 others have knitted 180 hats for our project.

2. A woman in New Jersey, U.S.A. included this letter to soldiers in her latest hat shipment:

Dear Soldier,
I have been making hats for the IDF 3 years now. This year the hats have a special meaning to me. Ten days before my father Isaac’s yarzheit I decided to do something special. I made a commitment to make 10 hats in my dad’s memory.

My father controlled the port in Sudan, Africa. The paperwork for anything imported or exported from the port ran across his desk. My father was killed because he was a Jew and aided Jews in many different capacities. He died after purposely being run down by a Muslim driver. The driver jumped off the truck before the impact.

During one instance a group of Yemenites were fleeing to Israel but got lost. My father hid them among the bags of grain on the ship and they escaped to Israel. My mother (may her soul rest in peace) told me another instance. Prior to Passover a shipment of matzo arrived. The inspector refused to release the matzo because of the Star of David on the boxes. The Star of David had to be covered. My father painted each box in the shipment so that the Jews could receive them in time.

In conclusion, my father represented the embodiment of selflessness (with his very life), loyalty, love and respect for the Jewish people.

I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your service. May G-d bless you.

S.

A family photo from Sudan

2011-11-07T09:45:00.002+02:00

Hi everyone!

Yup, it's the height of hat season -- it's cold at night and requests are coming in from soldiers on all our borders. Every hat you send is greatly appreciated, and the hats go out, and onto cold heads, very soon after they arrive. So please do keep 'em coming.

Here's an English article on the hats project that ran just last week. It's a translation (almost accurate) of an article that ran in Hebrew a few months ago. Please distribute to anyone who you think might be interested.

thanks, Channah

Women knit hats for IDF troops

www.ynetnews.com

Activism: In past three years, Channah Koppel and her friends across the world have prepared thousands of wool hats distributed to Israeli soldiers

On the Telly

2011-07-10T12:20:00.001+03:00

Here's a link to my interview on the Israeli radio/television show called "Kola shel Ima" (A Mother's Voice). I was a little unsure about doing a television interview in Hebrew, but decided it was for the good of the project and went ahead with it. And I have gotten some phone calls from interested knitters who saw me on the show, so I'm glad I did it.

http://www.23tv.co.il/2158-he/kola.aspx

It was Episode 31, which can be accessed through the window of episodes on the right side of the page. The interview was about 6 minutes long, from minutes 15:30 to 21:30 of the program.
Thanks for your support, everyone!

Back in the News

2011-06-13T10:49:00.002+03:00

This item on the hats project appeared in Yediot Aharonot yesterday, June 12 [click on photo to enlarge]. Tomorrow, June 14, I'll be interviewed on Radio Kol Chai, sometime between 10 and 10:30 am. Stay tuned!

But most important, please keep those hats coming!

Love Sweet Love

2011-04-10T14:26:00.004+03:00

Meet my Shlomo doll, sent to me as a gift by the lovely Lynda of Leeds.

Not only has Lynda organized a group to regularly knit hats for soldiers, which she mails to me monthly, she's also created this fabulous mascot for our cause...and I love it! Apparently the Shlomo doll gets to attend all kinds of fun events in England, like crafts fairs and Yom HaAtzma'ut (Israel Independence Day) celebrations.

Now Lynda's started another charity knitting group at a local housing complex for seniors. She's a fabulous person with boundless energy, and I am so grateful for her dedication to this cause. Not to mention for the many, many hats she's sent this way -- and, of course, for the new official mascot of Hats for Israeli Soldiers.

In a general update, things are heating up on the southern border and of course hats are always welcome. There are about 2 months in the summer when we don't usually distribute the hats but please do keep making and sending them. If your hat arrives in August, it'll be given out for Rosh Hashanah, so no worries :-)

Thanks again everyone for all your efforts and I wish a wonderful Passover to those who celebrate it.

Let it Snow

2011-01-25T20:59:00.005+02:00

Here's a lovely group of hat knitters in my home town, Montreal. They meet at the Beth Zion Synagogue and that's my mom in the middle, holding up 2 skeins of yarn. Knit on, ladies!

If you belong to a group that's knitting hats for soldiers and would like to see a photo of your group up on this blog, please send me an email at: channahk@gmail.com

Some Soldiers & Some Knitters

2011-01-16T11:14:00.008+02:00

Hi Knitters!

This past week, hats you made went out to soldiers in the Paratroopers, the Engineering Corps, and several elite units with names I don't even know how to translate into English (Palsar Nachal, anyone?) I also got a very touching note from a lone soldier who received, via A Package From Home, a care package which included one of our hats.

אני חייל שמצבו הכלכלי לא הכי טוב, וממש חימם את הלב לקבל מכם את הכובע הסרוג ושאר החפצים. המון המון תודה לכם על המצווה האדירה שאתם עושים ועוזרים לאלפי חיילים ומראים את הצד היפה יותר של העם שלנו

rough translation:

I'm a soldier whose economic situation is not so good, and it really warmed my heart to receive the knitted hats and other items. Thank you so so much for the great mitzvah [good deed/positive commandment] you are doing, helping thousands of soldiers and showing the good side of our people.

Hats continue to come in from around the globe -- places like New Zealand, South Africa and England, to name a few. Special mention this week goes to Jenny from Alaska, knitting by oil lamp, and to Linda from Toronto, who knits along despite hand surgeries, and travels to Israel every summer to volunteer in the IDF's Sar-El Program. This picture of the two of us was taken this past summer in Jerusalem.

As always, thank you all,
Channah

Letter of the Week

2011-01-08T18:00:00.000+02:00

I'm a Chayal Boded from NY in the IDF now. We started our service on December 15th and have been at Mikveh Alon base performing basic tironut and ulpan. We recently received some of your hats and are extremely grateful!

I never realized how chilly it got in Israel since I've only been here in the summer months before. The hat makes a huge difference and it also let's us know that people are thinking of us. Thanks again and keep up the good work!

With appreciation,
The Chayalim Bodedim of Mikveh Alon

P.S. Let everyone know that they can read about our experiences at the blog "The Lone Soldier".

Http://www.TheLoneSoldier.com
Http://www.Facebook.com/TheLoneSoldier

Need I say more?

2011-01-06T14:14:00.005+02:00

Your hats are so appreciated now that the winter season has finally come to our part of the world. Keep up the good work, because even though we've reached the 14,000 mark, there are constant requests for more hats. Thank you all!

a letter from a soldier

2010-12-17T13:01:00.002+02:00

Just wanted to share this sweet note with you, with last names deleted for privacy:

Dear Mrs. K.,

Thank you for the wonderful hat you knit for me! It’s beautiful. As you know, winter has finally arrived in Israel and it’s very cold, especially at night. The hat keeps me very warm, and it’s touching to know that it was made in Teaneck, where I lived for four years.

I wish you and the rest of the kind women in the knitting circle a year of good health, and I hope you have many opportunities to visit Israel.

Kol tuv,

Meir J.

Several of you have said you've been having problems downloading the pattern. I'm not sure why, but am trying to figure out a solution.

And here's a thank you in Hebrew, with a rough translation below:

לתורמות היקרים,

מחלקת הצלפים רוצה לומר תודה רבה על תרומתכם למחלקתנו.

תרומתכם תרמה רבות להעלת מצב הרוח של החיילים בעקבות תרותמתכם...

אנו מאוד מעריכים אנשים כמוכם שפשוט מזמנכם הפנוי סורגים כובעים ופשוט תורמים אותם לחיילים כמונו.

לכן אנו ממש מוקירים תודה רבה על השקעת זמנכם הפנוי ותרומתכם הרבה למחלקתנו.

תודה רבה על הכובעים שבימים קרים אלו ממש מחמם את הראש ואת הלב.

ושוב תודה רבה רבה,

ממחלקת הצלפים.

quickly translated:
The snipers unit thanks you for your contribution to our unit. It lifted our morale. We're very grateful to people like you who use your free time to knit hats for soldiers and contribute them. Thank you for investing your time. In these cold days the hats really warm our heads and hearts.
Thank you very, very much,
The Sharpshooters

Keep 'em coming, dear knitters!
And please remember that all packages mailed to Israel should weigh *less than* 4.4 pounds and have a declared value of *under* $50 -- otherwise they'll be subjected to draconian customs charges on this end.

thanks as always,
Channah

12,000 hats and counting....

2010-09-24T14:26:00.000+02:00

The Canadian Jewish News recently profiled my Hats for Soldiers project:

http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19896&Itemid=86

Just want to remind you all that this is the time to get knitting for winter, so please let anyone know who might be interested.

This year's goal: 5000 hats.

thanks for your ongoing support, shana tova,
Channah Koppel

The Fabulous Five from Florida

2010-05-14T08:10:00.002+03:00

Thanks so much, EP, for sharing this wonderful picture of happy hat knitters! You ladies are terrific and your efforts are greatly appreciated. Keep 'em coming!

...And any other hat knitters out there who went to send in their photos are invited to do so. I'll be happy to put them up on the blog.

Crochet Away

2010-04-13T10:13:00.006+03:00

Today I want to share with you a quote, a photo and...a new pattern!

This, from a kind knitter in California:

"I just want you to know what a blessing this has been to me, on many different levels: a connection to Eretz Israel, the landscape of my heart; a way to serve the brave men and women who defend her; and the comforting meditation of knitting something so simple and humble, yet so important."

Thank you, T.M.!

This photo is from a Givati brigade called Retem that spent their winter in Har Dov and then the Golan Heights, wearing your hats:

It came with a note that said, "Thank you for the wonderful hats. They keep us warm night & day." Just so you should know, we've given out about 3500 hats so far this year and are still going strong.

And, last but not least, a member of the Jerusalem Knit 'n Nosh group who would modestly prefer to be known only by her initials -- ESW -- was intrigued by the challenge of creating a crochet pattern that would mimic the texture and stretchiness of the knit hats. She came up with a terrific pattern (and hat) that's been approved by the army and I'm delighted to be able to share it with you. Please check out the all-new crochet pattern here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29835818
I'll post a link to it in the side bar, as well. Please spread the news to all your crocheting friends.

And, as always, my thanks to all you knitters for your warmth and dedication -- keep 'em coming!

Love,
Channah

p.s. I'll be appearing soon on the One Hundred Hats blog, would be happy to get your feedback on my interview there.

An Important Reminder

2010-01-05T11:01:00.003+02:00

Sorry I haven't written so long. Just to keep you updated: over 2000 handmade hats have been presented to soldiers this winter -- so far. We hope to give out lots more, so keep 'em coming. Photos coming soon.

Please please PLEASE remember that if you are mailing hats, any package described as having a value of over $50 U.S. will be picked up by Israeli customs and yours truly will have to pay at least that amount (often more) from my own pocket to free the package from customs. There's no big organization here to cover costs, it's just me and my checkbook. No, the customs people don't care that it's a charitable cause. Trust me, I've spent time in their offices pleading my case.

Also, on your end, there's no need to use any "special delivery" type of mail of service -- plain old regular mail, in envelopes or *small* boxes is best (big boxes also seem to arouse the curiosity of the customs officials). It seems to me, from the mail I get, that envelopes are the cheapest way to go -- so that's fine, choose the cheapest option and don't worry, the mail really does get here eventually. Please don't forget to include an email address if you want me to notify you that I've received your package.

Thanks so much everyone! Knit on!

men in hats

2009-03-16T16:22:00.002+02:00

What you see here is some soldiers from the elite Maglan unit wearing...your hats, of course! And they asked me to thank you, too.

in the news

2009-02-26T09:33:00.003+02:00

Check out this nice article about Chicks with Sticks in Long Island:

http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c41_a14970/News/Short_Takes.html

Groups of hat knitters are springing up all over the place. Some women in Leeds, England put together, on their own initiative, a wonderful Sunday morning knit-in. Here's a description that may inspire you to get together a group, too:

The coffee morning was a great success and we raised enough money to send you lots and lots of hats. In fact another parcel is about to be posted. What was lovely was the fact that we had over 20 of the knitters with us, the oldest a 90-year-old who brought 10 hats with her. We had a big blow up board of your letters and pictures of the soldiers wearing the hats. Some photos will follow. Every one who came wanted to DO SOMETHING and if they could not knit they wanted to buy wool or pay postage. Some had sons or grandsons in the army. There were a number of ladies who hadn’t knitted for years and there are now plans afoot to form a knitting circle. Look what you have started!!!

Even the famous Webs has a group! (And check out their wonderful Valley Yarns line. This stuff makes great hats.)

Also noteworthy: The knitters of Canada continue to be prolific and needles are clicking all across New Jersey, too. I'm especially touched by the packages that come all the way from Australia and New Zealand and wish I could do something about the high postage costs from there. Suggestions are welcome.

A special shout-out goes to all the schools who've taken up the cause, teaching kids to knit (yay! next generation!) and sending charmingly sweet drawings and letters for the soldiers.

You're all wonderful -- thank you!

p.s. Despite some recent wintery weather, Israel continues to suffer from a very serious water shortage. See my "poster boy" there in the snow? His parents own an organic farm in the Golan. They have a huge mango grove and only enough water now to keep the trees alive, but they don't think they'll be able to harvest this summer. I'm not sure how they'll manage. So, if you are one to pray, this'd be a good time to pray for lots of rain to fall here over the next month.

Hats Galore!

2009-02-01T18:55:00.003+02:00

So what's up with the hats for soldiers, you ask?

That's me, with a few days' worth of mail. This project has become huge, thanks to all you wonderful people from around the world who've taken the time to knit a hat for an Israeli soldier. Just to give you an idea of the scale, I now have my own shelf in the post office. I come in every few days with one of those enormous mail sacks, which the people in the post office have permanently loaned to me, go directly to the back room and they help me load all the packages into the mail sack.

Opening them up at home on the dining room table is a big treat -- my kids love to see the postmarks from all around the world. Nowadays, we're getting between 100 and 200 hats a week. Power to the knitters!

In the last few weeks, a lot of hats went to soldiers serving in Aza (=Gaza). Here's an elite Golani unit, just out of Aza, wearing the work of your hands.

It's hard for me to describe how appreciated the hats are. The fact that someone sat down and with his/her own hands made something that a week later a soldier can put on his head ...Well. That's not only head-warming, it's also heart-warming.

Some Q & A:

How many hats have you gotten altogether?

I've personally received and distributed almost 2000. In addition, some hats were mailed directly to Barbara Silverman of "A Package from Home" so it's hard for me to keep track of the total number of hats that have come in -- she's definitely gotten several hundred by now.
A *humongous* thank you goes to my mother-in-law who sews the labels into each and every hat I get.

Do you still want more hats?
Yes! This is an ongoing project, not connected to the war in Aza, that enables people from around the world to show their appreciation for the difficult work that Israeli soldiers do. Even in the summer, even in the desert -- if you're doing guard duty in the middle of the night, baby it's cold out! The soldiers wear the hats year round, and we collect them year round. So keep 'em coming!

Why is this pattern the way it is?

This hat has several advantages:
1. It's not hard to make.
2. It conforms to army regulations.
3. Because of the ribbing, it stretches to fit a wide variety of head sizes.
4. It fits better than the hat that soldiers are given by the army and -- this is a biggie -- it can be worn under a helmet. The army issue hat does not. A lot of soldiers, especially those serving in cold areas, have expressed their gratitude for this.

Can I include a note for a soldier?
Yes, we are happy to include your letters with the hats.

And...please don't forget to include your email address (not snail mail address) every time you send me a hat, so that I can let you know it has arrived.

Thank you again so much, and be in touch. I love hearing from you all,
Channah

The Pattern

2008-11-21T11:45:00.007+02:00

Hey everyone, I got my flyers done and will be be distributing them to yarn shops across Israel. You can download a pdf of the flyer, the way it appears below, here.
For a plain old black and white version, easier on the printer, click here.
For a plain old black and white version IN HEBREW, click here.

Hats Off to You!

2008-11-16T18:25:00.024+02:00

Welcome!

So many people have expressed an interest in knitting hats for soldiers that blogging now seems like the best way to keep everyone updated on the project.

This is the place where you can get the pattern, see some photos, hear how many hats have come in and who they've gone to.

If you want to make a hat for an Israeli soldier -- well, first of all, thank you! I can promise you that it'll be put to good use. Second of all, please be aware that the hat must be knit according to a specific pattern -- this one. This pattern has been developed to conform with both the soldiers' requests and army regulations.

FAQ

Q: What is this project?
A: This is what happens when a small group of women with needles -- in this case, the "Chicks with Sticks" of Gush Etzion, Israel -- decide to use their craft to do something good. In brief, about a year and a half ago one of the women suggested that we take on a project to benefit our soldiers. I had a son serving in paratroopers at the time, so I was elected to investigate. I asked around, found out they'd appreciate some warm, snug hats and developed a pattern. Once it had been approved by the commanders, we made a bunch of hats, sent out a couple of emails and -- boom! The internet is an amazing place. Since then, knitters from around the world have been mailing me hats -- hundreds of them -- for Israeli soldiers.

Read about us, for example, here: www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128373

Q: How does it work?
A: The hats must be knit to pattern from black, machine washable wool. They get mailed to me, I affix a label that says (in Hebrew) "knit for you with warmth and love" and see that it gets to a combat soldier who could use it.

Q: How are the hats distributed?
A: Up until recently, my son and his friends were helping me to distribute the hats and they went mainly to soldiers serving in the Golan and on the Hermon. My son has since completed his army service and the number of hats coming in continues to grow so I've teamed up with Barbara Silverman of "A Package from Home". This organization puts together wonderful care packages for soldiers that include long underwear, gloves, toiletries and the like. I strongly urge you to check out their website and see all the good work they do. They specialize in "chayalim bodedim", which means "lone soldiers" who don't have family in Israel.

Recently, I gave them 175 hats to put in their last shipment and they were overwhelmed by the positive response of the soldiers. Barbara S. wrote to me that,

"When they came to pick up the packages and saw the hats they were thrilled. You should have seen their faces. One of the soldiers asked me to make sure the packages he gets all have a hat from the ones you sent us."

Q: What are your current goals?
A: Barbara Silverman has a list of another 2000 lone soldiers in combat units that she's sending packages to this winter. Our goal is to get a handknit hat to each and every one of them.

Q: Doesn't the army give the soldiers hats?
A: Yes, it does. The standard hat that soldiers receive in their kit bags is from a fleece-type synthetic material that is nowhere near as warm and snug as our hats. But besides that, one of the reasons we make the hats is to show our appreciation for the IDF soldiers and the hard work they do. The hats provide both physical warmth and emotional support and we feel good knowing that somewhere tonight, a soldier doing guard duty in the cold will be wearing a warm hand knit hat, made with love.

Q: Is there a crochet pattern for the hats?
A: Sorry, there isn't. We've experimented with crochet but the resulting fabric is neither as snug as the knit fabric, nor as stretchy, which is important in helping the hats fit a wide variety of head sizes. Also, the commanders wanted the hats to have a uniform look, so that all the soldiers get something similar-looking, and the crocheted hats just don't look like the knit ones.

Q: Who knits the hats?
A: Anyone who wants to -- caring individuals, knitting and crafts guilds, bat mitzvah girls...and hopefully you, too!