Building off of a successful three-year Community Giving program, Fancywork Yarn Shop has chosen Hearts Unknown Education (HÚE) as its new Year-Round Community Giving beneficiary. This partnership will kick off with a Community Giving Raffle to take place on Saturday, April 29.
To date Fancywork has raised $5,500 — $1700 of that on Local Yarn Store Day 2022 — for nonprofits in our community and around the world including Warm Springs Community Action Team, OUT Central Oregon, NeighborImpact and refugee relief in Ukraine.
Fancywork feels that HÚE is a fitting beneficiary for the fiber arts community as many fiber artists approach their crafts in the same way. The process of creating is a proven balm through times of stress, anxiety, depression. HÚE offers the same in a safe, inclusive space for young people just learning to find their way.
Youth At Risk
- According to the American Academy of Child and Pediatric Psychiatry, suicide is the second leading cause of death for children, adolescents and young adults 15 to 24 years old.
- Oregon Health Sciences University researchers found a significant increase in suicidal overdoses beginning around 2012 with the most significant increase seen among children 10- to 12-years old, representing a five-fold increase.
- While the increase in persistent sadness and feelings of helplessness spans the gender spectrum, the CDC reports the teen girls experience these feelings at twice the rate of teen boys.
- The mental crisis among children was so dire as to to be declared a national state of emergency by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA).
Hearts Unknown Education
Hearts Unknown Education (HÚE) is the first program of the Dead Poets Foundation. HÚE offers creative wellness and free expression classes for at-risk youth ages 5-18. These classes are focused not just on the fun of creating art, but also on the act of creating as a path to releasing pain and to healing.
“Art is connection, it is at the heart of everything in life,” said Nicola Carpineli, executive director of Hearts Unknown Education. “We offer a safe and supportive space for kids struggling with anxiety, depression, really just struggling to cope with life. We teach them creative utility, or my new word ‘creatility,’ helping them find tools so that they might be able to clear space and face what comes next in life.”
From its first class of four students held at Layor Art Supply in April 2022, HÚE has grown to 60 students and counting during the first sessions of 2023. The nonprofit currently offers two classes per week at DIY Cave. Sessions run three months long. All classes are free of charge, removing economic barriers that are often a hurdle to enrichment programs for low-income families. Because Carpinelli is a bilingual speaker, HÚE classes are accessible to the Spanish-speaking community as well.
“We are stretching and growing to meet the high need of our community’s youth and families. Our goal is to be there daily for children, giving them a place to create and connect,” says Carpinelli.
Donations will be used to:
- Expand class availability and offerings
- Help secure a dedicated art space
- Provide materials for students to express themselves
- Increase access to qualified mental health support
- Allow more Central Oregon children to access this free community resource.
Local Yarn Store Day Raffle
Saturday’s raffle includes over thirty raffle prizes estimated at a total value of over $3,000. Prizes have been donated from local individuals and businesses as well as craft industry heavy-weights from as far away as Canada including Akerworks, Alexandra-The Art of Yarn, The American Crochet Association, Apple Fiber Studio, Berroco, Bloom Handmade Studio, Blue Sky Fibers, Brooklyn Tweed, Bryson Distributing/Knitter’s Pride, ChiaoGoo, Cocoknits, Four Skiers Studio, Julie Asselin, Knitting Fever/Noro, Koigu, Kokomo Yarns, Kumi Fisher Designs, Malabrigo, Pom Pom Publishing, Red Stag Fibre, Shwood, Universal Yarns, The Fibre Co., Tumalo Fiber Co., Urth Yarns, Wooldreamers and more.
Raffle tickets can be purchased all day Saturday, April 29 at Fancywork Yarn Shop. One hundred percent of ticket sales will be donated to Hearts Unknown Education.
Year-Round Community Giving
Fancywork will continue its support of Hearts Unknown Education throughout the year by offering an option to round-up or add any additional amount to customer purchases, as well as a portal for direct donations to HÚE through Fancywork.com. Additionally, over the course of the week of Giving Tuesday, November, 28, ten percent of all profits are donated to HÚE.
All processing and administrative fees are covered by Fancywork Yarn Shop ensuring that one hundred percent of funds to go to the nonprofit.
About Fancywork Yarn Shop:
Fancywork Yarn Shop is Central Oregon’s home for exceptional yarn, swoon-worthy accessories and gifts, woolly inspiration and cozy, warm community. In addition to time-honored workhorse yarns and much-loved standards, Fancywork specializes in hand-dyed, independent and American yarns as well as carefully curated specialty yarns from abroad. We’re conveniently located between the East and West sides of Bend in the Maker’s District. Our hours are Tuesday — Saturday, 10am-5pm and Sunday and Monday, 11am-3pm.
About Hearts Unknown Education:
Hearts Unknown Education (HÚE), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Bend, that uses the creative arts to offer imaginative experiences in a safe and supportive environment, guiding young people (K-12) who may be struggling emotionally — particularly those with anxiety or depression — or who may be having a tough time coping with the state of the world. HÚE’s Creative Wellness programs foster free expression while encouraging youth to explore their inner selves and emotions through art.
About Local Yarn Store Day:
Local Yarn Store (LYS) Day is a brick-and-mortar yarn shop appreciation day created by members of The National Needlearts Association (TNNA). Now in its sixth year, LYS Day is designed to show support for small businesses while bringing together a unique community of knitters, crocheters, weavers and spinners to drive awareness and celebrate the craft. Vendors and retailers alike come together on this day to showcase the benefits of locally owned yarn stores through an array of special products, classes and more.
