A Teacher Resource That
MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Yes you CAN Make A Difference!

In your child's life! In an AIDS orphan's life! In your own life!

Engage your students in a fun and interactive charity knitting schools program.

It’s simple and easy to implement with step by step how to knit instructions, colorful handouts, and loads of facts about the orphans your kids will be helping.

Dear Teacher,

In your busy day-to-day activities, you may not always have time to come up with new and engaging programs that really capture your kids interest, let alone start them on the journey of becoming great global citizens!

What if in starting them on this journey, you were also able to teach them a meaningful and practical skill?

If that’s the case, this letter holds the key to you having a powerful resource that you can use year after year.

Here’s How…..

My name’s Sandy McDonald, founder of the international charity, knit-a-square.com and like many of you, until a year ago, I was deeply frustrated by my inability to do anything meaningful about some of the world’s many problems.

The great Nelson Mandela recently put out a challenge, asking “each one of us to take a step through some act of community service and to realize the power in us to change the world.”

So I took heart and decided to take action! Why not take that step by helping the almost overwhelming number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and poverty in southern Africa.

Why AIDS Orphans?

Well, because as World Vision president Richard Stearns says…

"I believe that this could very well be looked back upon as the sin of our generation . . . and our children 40 or 50 years from now are going to ask ‘what did you do while 40 million children became orphans in Africa?"

So How Can YOU Make A Difference?

Based on the belief that a good idea done is better than an excellent idea not done, I launched the website in October 2008 to ask the world’s knitters and crocheters to make 8” squares and send them to South Africa where they are made into blankets for the orphans.

Imagine how excited I was when the first square arrived in South Africa in January 2009!!

Six months later we have wrapped OVER 1000 BLANKETS around the shoulders of young orphaned children and sent their stories to our growing list of contributors in over 40 countries around the world.

To our delight, we soon realized that many of our contributors were school children!

How could we further harness their wonderful energy and ‘yes we can’ attitude to make an even greater difference in the lives of these orphans who need so much, but also to know that they are not forgotten by the rest of the world.

So we decided that we needed to create this teacher resource, so that you to can teach your kids the joy of knitting and the power of giving – and let them know that they can too make a difference.

YOUR DONATION BY PURCHASING 'Make a difference in an AIDS orphans' life' IS HOW IT ALL STARTS

This teacher resource will show you how to do just that. And all for a small donation of US$12.95, very little for making such a powerful difference in a child's life.

Your donation sets an example for your children. And by using this teacher resource to realise Nelson Mandela's plea, you will deliver them an inspiring lesson that they'll use for the rest of their lives.

It's your chance to make an impact that could be felt across the globe ... and in your school and your own home.

Making It Simple For You

How could we make this school program simple easy and effective for you, the school teacher to implement?

By developing four well-laid out lesson plans that logically introduce your students to the problem and make them part of the solution and include:

- Class room activity hand-outs

- Tonnes of background information to assist you

- Clearly illustrated knitting instructions

- Ideas for creative knitting

- Fund a square™ – easy fund-raising for yarn and postage

- Clear instructions for getting your kids squares safely to South Africa

- A safe and welcoming knitting/charity online community

- Giving great tips and advice

SOUND GOOD?

Read what Debbie has to say:

And How Do Your Children Benefit?

This knitting project is simple.
It's easy, its accessible, it achieves results.

It will involve your children in a caring community around the world and in a culture of giving. They will:

• see their squares joining 1000's of others to make blankets

• be part of a global effort to make a difference

• connect to the children through our programs of giving

• share in the joy of achieving a common goal

• learn the wonderful craft of knitting

IF YOU CAN’T KNIT . . . DON’T STOP READING!!

That’s the best thing about this project, yes we want to involve children all over the world in the joy of giving, but we also want to involve YOU.

So if you can’t knit, don’t panic! The knitting instructions are so clear that it won’t take you long at all to master this cool craft, that is making a come back all over the world.

Besides, (now you may think we’re being a little cheeky here), if you decide that learning to knit from instructions is just too hard for you, why not join our forum and access the hundreds of women, more than happy to help!

You get to become part of a warm and caring environment – and you help us, spread the word.

OR

Why not ask your Mum, Sister, Neighbour (even Dads and Brothers are learning to knit) and that way you are also helping us to spread the word.

So What's Included?

The teacher resource, Make a difference in an Aids orphans life includes four simple lesson plans - each with background information for teachers and classroom discussions and activities for the children.

Lesson one: Sharing stories about AIDS orphans, understanding their plight
1. Why do we need to help the AIDS orphans of southern Africa?
2. What do you know about southern Africa?
3. How many AIDS orphans are there?
4. How can you help?

Lesson two: Giving and getting
1. Why should we give
2. The importance of team work
3. Knitting and giving
4. Fund-raising activites, including ‘Fund a Square™’

Lesson three: Learning how to knit and knitting squares
1. Properties of wool and yarn
3. History of knitting
2. Knitting lessons: learn to knit and
practice by knitting 8”/20cm squares

Lesson four: Wrapping up
1. The importance of team work
2. Messages of hope for the AIDS Orphans
3. Sending the squares

Did You Know?

There are over 53 million knitters in the United States alone! Imagine how many blankets we could make if your students joined the ranks of these wonderful women and men.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS . . . IF NOT MILLIONS!

More hands, more squares, more blankets, more warm children.

And it is children like these that you WILL be helping.

IMAGINE HOW YOUR STUDENTS WOULD FEEL IF THEY COULD SEE ONE OF THEIR SQUARES IN A BLANKET, ON AN ORPHAN

This is just one of the many benefits your students receive when taking part in our knit-a-square project.

Everyone Wins!

The AIDS orphans, your children, you and knit-a-square.The teacher resource is packed full of information and wonderful photographs of the children and their blankets.

And your donation of just $12.95 supports knit-a-square to continue our work to make these children warm and raise awareness of their plight.

We understand there are many teacher resources out there and you couldn’t buy each one you come across...

Which is why this is a one off purchase, you can use this program year after year.

It is an investment in your children’s future and in the future of the AIDS orphans!

PROCEEDS FROM YOUR PURCHASE HELP KEEP AIDS ORPHANS WARM

Not only do we know that you will be delighted with this teacher resource, but you get the added benefit of knowing that you have started your school’s contribution to a wonderful cause.

So if you’re getting excited about the idea of being part of a global gifting phenomenon by having a teacher resource you can use again and again, but you’re worried it may be to hard to implement, let us reassure you again…

THIS IS A SIMPLE EASY school program that you will enjoy, your kids will enjoy and that does an enormous power of GOOD for AIDS Orphans.

Within minutes you can learn all about the crisis and, armed with the knowledge that we have provided you and your students WITH A WAY TO HELP.

Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to be a part of a global phenomenon for only a small contribution of $12.95!!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE your electronic copy of the Teacher Resource, for just $12.95.

The book is 8MgB, and will download in .pdf format, which you can view using Adobe Acrobat.

Within a short time you will be enjoying your children's inbuilt desire to love and do good and their boundless energy to benefit the abandoned children and AIDS orphans of southern Africa.

Children learn from and are rewarded by the power of giving!!

Feedback
We greatly value and respect your feedback. Our goal is to help you teach your children about the AIDS orphan tragedy unfolding in Africa and all about this knitting project. If we can do more, please contact us at sandy@knit-a-square.com, Thank you.

We publish a free online magazine each month - Square Circle, which regularly features participating schools and the stories of the children and their blankets. You can subscribe here.

You can also learn more about this crochet and knitting project and about raising awareness of the plight of these children as referred to in the teacher resource here.

Join our global community

We look forward to meeting you and your children in the months to come and invite you to join our warm and friendly knit-a-square community in our lively and active global forum.