MTG

Welcome to The Make To Give Challenge. This is a new idea to encourage more of us to share what we make, in random acts of kindness.

This autumn, could you make greetings cards on a Christmas theme, for a local care home? Maybe you run or belong to a community group, a children’s or youth group, or would like to do this with a school class, a nursery group or with staff as a community gesture? I have example images to send out and outline blanks you could use for colouring, and I can match you with a care home – just get in touch using the Contact form. Thank you so much! So far groups in Torquay, Wolverhampton, Hemel Hempstead, Birmingham, Louth, Skegness and Spilsby, Alford, Mansfield, Cleethorpes and Weymouth are making cards.

For summer and early autumn 2025, Make To Give arranged for children’s holiday clubs and craft clubs to make cards to give to local care homes, on a summer theme – think bees, butterflies and flowers. Clubs in Hastings, Oundle, Swindon, Glasgow, York, Bradford, South Somerset, Weymouth, Newbury, Portsmouth, Swale, Plymouth, Rugby, North Bristol, Maidenhead, Crowborough, Hilton (Derbs), Lytham, Caerleon, Walsall, Kendal, Shaftesbury, Bexhill, Pudsey (Leeds), Chorley, Caerphilly, Thornton Cleveleys (Lancs) and Shrewsbury have taken part.

Make To Give is proud to be part of The Big Draw Festival 2025!

Easter 2025 saw Make To Give’s first challenge – asking people to make and give Easter cards to local care homes.

10 community groups made a fantastic selection of cards to give to 9 care homes – in Lincoln, Scunthorpe, Skegness, Mablethorpe, Alford, Louth, Gainsborough, Mansfield and Newark. There were wellbeing craft groups, support groups for people with disabilities or dementia, and a children’s youth group at a community centre. It was wonderful to see people take up the idea and get creative – thank you so much to all who took part. Some groups even took along chocolate treats too!

Some quotes from care homes:

“We would absolutely love that, thank you so much”

“What a great idea, our residents would love to receive cards”

And from two of the groups that made cards:

“We had a lovely morning colouring the Easter cards…and the care home was delighted to receive them”

“The children are so happy their cards will be cheering the residents up at Easter”

Thank you! Make To Give will be back later in the year!

Here are some cards I sent to a local care home for Christmas 2024:

I hope you’ll experiment with making and giving, and see how art and craft connect us, lift mood and make the world a brighter place. Make To Give’s next callout will have an Easter theme, in April 2025.

You can also “make to give” at any time!
Creating art and craft to share with other people is powerful – whether it’s yarn bombing your postbox, leaving rock art out for strangers to find, knitting teddies or making cards to raise funds for charity. Sharing art and craft is central to creativity’s positive impact on wellbeing. But it is usually overshadowed, and it’s not always easy to find out about opportunities to contribute and have a go.

On my road stands a postbox. So far, so everyday. But one day last year I went along to post a letter and saw the postbox transformed by a colourful woollen topper, decorated with crochet butterflies. A secret “yarn bomber” had struck. Now every few weeks or months the postbox changes again. A purple woollen crown studded with gems for the King’s Coronation, 3D red hearts for Valentine’s Day…

Yarn bombing has brought colour and life to so many places, showing how creativity can brighten the everyday. Some yarn bombers go it alone, Others form a local group and might “bomb” various sites in their area. And sometimes there are special appeals for yarn bombers. The Lincs And Notts Air Ambulance asked people to knit mini helicopters to celebrate the charity’s 30^th birthday in 2024, and over 800 yarn bombers took part across the two counties.

Would you like to try yarn bombing where you live?

Just remember not to obstruct or damage anything, and it’s a good idea to check first with the local council or property owner, for example Royal Mail if it’s a postbox.

Or what about rock painting? It’s a colourful, fun and imaginative artform, making solid, portable artworks to be shared. Some people create rock art for themselves, but others leave out the rocks they paint for others to take away. Weatherproof your painted rocks with varnish and leave outside to be found, maybe with an explanatory sign saying they are a gift to enjoy.

And yarn bombing & rock painting are only two examples. Making cards is another fantastic way to share, or making decorations, soft toys…the possibilities go on!