big problems, little helping hands

Some of the world's woes are hard to avoid with little ones. Even without a TV, people talk, the radio plays in the car, headlines hollar from the newspaper racks at the store. I am sure if your little ones have also heard about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, they too have asked why? And they too have drawn pictures and imagined fantastic ways of stopping the oil that could only come from the mind of a child.

And so it seems to have stopped. For now. But the toxic goo floats on. And what can a little person, or any one individual do to help out and also stop that feeling of helplessness?

Here's one easy, truly useful way we found through the wonderful folks at Craft Hope. Wildlife covered in oil needs to be cleaned. Kids can understand that. And the folks who are out there helping the wipe down the turtles, birds, dolphins, and other wildlife impacted by the oil spill need rags to do the cleaning.

You don't even have to know how to sew to participate with this project (though you certainly CAN crochet, knit, or sew for this too). Just find any cotton items that can be repurposed and cut them down in to 10 inch by 10 inch sqaures. Old t-shirts, fabric scraps, towels, whatever you have around your home.

(Of course Z wanted to send pirate fabric left over from a project we attempted earlier in the year. "Pirates will scare off that yucky oil," he declares.)

The donations don't have to be anything fancy. If anything, the towels and rags will be used two to three times and will have to be disposed of because they'll be ruined by the toxic oil residue.

They're also asking for donations of Dawn liquid soap. (Here is the lowdown on why they use Dawn, but in short it breaks down the greasy oil while being gentle on feathers, fur, and skin.)

Donations will be accepted until the end of August and can be mailed to:

Kimberly Davion

c/o IMMS Oil Spill Relief
1700 East La Rua Street
Pensacola, Florida 32501
USA

Go to Craft Hope's page on this project HERE for more information and details. And check out the FLICKR page for the project HERE for some inspiration and ideas. And please feel free to share any other conservation or volunteer projects in the comments that you've done with your little ones that you'd like to spread the word about. Or if you've already participated in this effort, post a link to your blog.

Now get to it!