Welcome
Become a Mentor
Become a Donor
Start a Program
Active Programs
The "Guide"
Frequently Asked Questions
Reviews
Students' Yarns
A Mentor's Story
Friends
Contact Us
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The "Guide" includes:
|Table of Contents
|Acknowledgements
|Forward
|History
|Benefits
|Getting Started
|Steps to Success
|Logistics
|Conclusion|
|Warm Up America|
|Appendix|
 Warm Up America 
The thrill of helping children can be seen in all these faces.
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Warm Up America! is a non-profit program started in the mid-1990s by noted knitting teacher and author
Evie Rosen. Evie envisioned getting volunteers nationwide to knit and crochet afghans for people in
need. To appeal to a large audience, she came up with the idea of having volunteers knit or crochet
7" by 9" sections and then having other volunteers join them together into colorful "patchwork"
afghans.
It’s a simple idea that caught on, especially among schoolteachers and student group leaders in
churches, scouts and after school programs. To date, tens of thousands of afghans have been donated
to people in need. And it’s a perfect program to tie-in to NAMP.
The basic Warm Up America! 7" by 9" section is a great first project for kids. It’s not too big or
too small and the process helps the child feel more comfortable holding the needles or hooks and
yarn. The best part is that this first project also will be put to good use. It will become an
important part of a finished afghan, imperfections and all. It’s never wasted.
Forty-nine sections (7 across and 7 down) make a traditional Warm Up America! adult afghan. However,
there is a need for baby blankets and smaller-size afghans, which can be used as lap robes in nursing
homes or on day beds. If you are mentoring a group of students, you may adjust the size of the
sections.
When you are working with a group of children, they also can help choose the social service agency,
nursing home, hospital, etc., to receive the afghan. In addition, they can be encouraged to involve
their family members and friends in this project. In this way, they become the "teachers" at home or
with their friends.
Warm Up America! is simply another vehicle to spread the fun of knitting and crocheting and involve
the children you are teaching in a worthwhile charitable program.
At the Warm Up America! web site: www.warmupamerica.com there are basic stitch patterns, hints on
joining sections, suggestions on how to complete different size afghans. Plus, regular news updates
from groups and individuals involved in the program are featured at the web site. We’d like to
feature the children you teach at the web site too. Please contact us with your stories and photos.
If you do not have access to the Internet, write to Warm Up America! 2500 Lowell Rd., Gastonia, NC 28054
for your free handout. And if you do not have enough sections to complete an entire afghan, you may
send them to Warm Up America! offices as well.
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