The seeds of kogo (knit one give one) were planted in July 2004. It was a particularly cold winter in Melbourne and we decided to get friends and family to direct their knitting energy towards making scarves for people who were experiencing homelessness. That year we knitted 180 scarves (with our own wool) which were distributed by the Emerald Hill Mission to those in need.
The following year saw the official launch of kogo. Australian Country Spinners came on board as our sponsors and supplied us with yarn. It was decided to knit scarves and beanies for disadvantaged children and these items were distributed to schools that were supported by the Ardoch Youth Foundation. Publicity in the local press led to an overwhelming response and before we knew it, kogo had grown to over 200 volunteer knitters and we had over 2,000 finished items!
In 2006, kogo grew even larger with ACS again providing yarn. In June 2006, the Nova pharmacy group helped to publicise and distribute knitting kits and this time, we had over 350 knitters and 3,000 finished garments!
The project has continued to grow exponentially and up to date, we have received over 43,000 hand knitted items and we are now supplying over 30 agencies.
In 2009 as well as making scarves and beanies, we took on the task of making woollies and blankets for the Bushfire Survivors. We received many beautiful items and amongst these were lots of babies’ clothes. We decided to use some of these garments to put together with a selection of essential items eg nappies, bunny rugs, bibs, wipes etc to make up gift packs for “new mums”. These packs were given to disadvantaged mums by the Royal Women’s Hospital, Monash Medical Centre and various other family outreach programs. Many of these women would never have had anything new for their babies. As you can imagine, they have been really well received and much appreciated, so they are definitely on the agenda for 2010.
Due to the continuing growth of the project as well as the economic conditions, we are no longer able to supply wool to our volunteer knitters and so we have changed the format of kogo for 2010. We are asking our knitters to supply their own wool – a great way to use up your stash of wool! Patterns can be downloaded from the website or else please feel free to make whatever you like. We can find a deserving “home” for any hand knit – whether it be for baby, child or adult!
The project runs from the beginning of March until the end of August. |
