What about gardening?

We tend to come and go a lot, so we keep the outdoor stuff to a minimum. We are growing some vegetables in pots, but that doesnt take up much of my time.

Also, I'm looking for a way to be useful to others. I don't want to learn a craft for the sake of crafting, but it was something others could use, I'd think about it.

Since you can sew, making a quilt to be auctioned off or raffled for a local charity, or making baby quilts for new low-income mothers. You could also make layettes for the infants.

Gardening is a good suggestion. You get fresh air, exercise, and good produce, and the extras could be donated to a church or food pantry for those who can't garden.

Contact some of the local volunteer opportunities and ask what you could do from home. I'd bet they will come up with quite a few ideas!

I wonder if any of the Reading for the Blind can now be done remotely?

Gardening could be done for others (i.e. grow food you donate). Would you consider leaving your small town once a week to volunteer somewhere else?

If you want to make quilts or lap robes for donation, check with your area hospital, nursing homes, and 501C agencies who help teenagers or families in need. Our hospital has a liaison who can connect someone to a volunteer activity just right for them. A friend goes up and rocks babies, giving them lots of touching. Another acquaintance makes little caps for baby heads, she likes to use holiday patterns. Just suggestions.

Excellent suggestions. The gardening is out, we are gone enough that it wouldn't be successful.

I am involved with our local volunteer agency, and I do meals on wheels once a week, but otherwise they haven't been much help. And we are far enough away from the next sizable town that it would be at least a 30 mile round trip.

Start a local walking/bicycling group. I think more people would get out and walk or bike if they had a group to go with.

My mom used to volunteer for local theaters - ushering, taking tickets, etc. She got to enjoy shows and concerts for free and got free/discounted tickets too that she often shared with us. Museums are usually looking for volunteers too - and libraries as well. She also volunteered with after school programs - reading to and tutoring elementary kids.

Here's a sewing project for you: “Blessing Blankets.” For many people struggling with emotional or mental health, a blanket can be a source of comfort and warmth during difficult times. Our “Blessing Blankets,” made with love and prayers by our members and friends, can be used to wrap around oneself, or to give to someone else as a gift. The blankets may be given to someone who is lonely, anxious, grieving, sick, or struggling in some way. They may also be given in celebration to a friend or family member.

Call your local hospital????? Or Mental health care givers

We also have a group that makes busy blankets for newborns. Check with your local crisis pregnancy center.

Somewhere I heard about a charity called "Little Dresses for Africa". The sewing looks very simple, perhaps too simple for a person who can really sew, but it might be worth looking into.

You'd mentioned sewing. My cousin used to sew dresses for something like

'Dresses for girls around the world'. Third world countries so the children would have something to wear to church or school if there was one available. The patterns and colors were somewhat strict, necklines, lengths etc. It was not just make a cute dress and donate ;)

Our hospital does not but larger communities have a program where clothes for preemies are accepted. My niece had an early birth experience at Duke in NC and had nothing of appropriate size - they had 'sack' style onesies and little caps that were important for a baby who may not be able to regulate their own body temps yet. (She needed things immediately and in my small town, I could find nothing for preemies other than Walmart and they had no caps. Not one other store carried tiny. And I needed things right away to mail from this side of the country) And, for a while a friend was making little soft knit caps for women undergoing chemo. Until my sister had chemo treatments, I hadn't thought about how chilly losing ones hair was when going to bed - she needed nightwear for her head.

Maybe sewing stuffed bears for traumatized children? Organizations to consider

Several of these suggestions look interesting. I do already volunteer at the local library, but they don't need much help.

Your ability to sew is a very powerful skill, one you could consider using to help girls go to school in Africa. Much of Africa uses the British education model, where the 7th grade exam is critical to any future. (Fail that exam and your education is essentially over.)

Sadly, many African girls are not allowed to go to school during the days they are menstruating, and they are placed at a significant dis-advantange missing school days, and risk of exam failure.

The direct way you can help from home is by sewing, either washable re-usable pads for the girls to wear to school, or purses they can have to keep pads provided by others. A local school principal told me about these needs. Here are just two options if you might be interested in having a look:

Sew Powerful Purse Program

The Pad Project

Another option to do from home is to help Project Gutenberg, an online Library that distributes over 70K free ebooks, inclucing the great classics that are now in the public domain. They need proofreaders as well as people to record audiobooks.

Project Gutenberg

Someone made and donated little fleece blankets to line the cardboard cat carriers, my cats came home in when I adopted them. Making fleece blankets to put on dog beds at dog rescues or dog shirts. A dog shirt, called Thunder shirts, can calm a dog during a thunder storm.

Or...volunteer to cook at a soup kitchen.

Or...read to children at the library. They have a LOT of volunteer programs for teaching adults "How to" perform a task. We have a library with sewing machines. Teach sewing.

You can do cataloguing and archive work from home. Enquire at your local history society, library, museum or archives. But you do need some skills.

Would you be open to some simple alterations? I could use someone who can do things like this for a few items. Being petite, yet not super slim, clothing can use a tweek once in a while. If you are interested, PM me. : ) Not expecting you to volunteer your time...

Animal shelters and animal rescue. My youngest fosters dogs and her organization has short term commitments.

I've seen early grade school teachers ask for volunteers to make things for the classroom. Like -- many multiples of paper shapes to cut using a pattern, or cutting cardboard tangram sets for each child, or sorting out huge bags full of alphabet tiles into single sets for each child. Maybe put out an offer on local Facebook, Nextdoor, teachers forums (Reddit has some), or call / email local schools with the offer.

At my parents’ care home, there was an independent living complex as part of it. They had a service where residents could drop off clothes to be mended, hemmed, buttons sewn on, etc etc. And it was an organization that did the work for a small fee and brought them back the next week. I wish they had that at the rehab/skilled nursing/assisted living/memory care, too, but they offered it only to the independent living, I don’t know why. Perhaps there is someplace like that near you? I would have loved to have had that for my parents!

I’m expanding my thinking on that: a PT/rehab, where clothes surely take a beating with assistive devices and hard work, or perhaps need a slight tailoring change (shorten the legs or sleeves, open the neck, change fasteners from hook and eye to something else)

Thanks for so many suggestions. Our small town doesn't have some of these opportunities (animal shelter, theater), but I will start asking around about some others. I love the Project Gutenberg, could start today and do it anywhere. I'll dig deeper.

Is there a talk line you could train to do for certain set hours?

You sound as though you're a people-related person, aok (which is aok with me as I claim to be such).

Are there a number of seniors living alone within telephone range and is there any system in operation to have them contacted daily to ensure they're O K?

Hopefully preplanning so that there are different callers in a rotation at a few days each to avoid it getting boring.

There's been an emphasis on helping seniors age in place, as more efficient than going earlier to retirement homes as well as being preferred by many of the seniors.

If there may be a need locally is there a system in place to have those needs met? Perhaps having able seniors help others less able, whether somewhat voluntarily or receiving some support, and some agency to help achieve it.

Would being involved in such programs interest you, and if they aren't available now, to try to find agencies to do such ... or organize them yourself, probably seeking help from local public service systems?

ole joyfuelled

Yes to project linus. You can make blankets out of fleece for donating.

Very sad, but very much in need of sewing talent is turning old wedding gowns into burial outfits for infants and premies. There are a number of different organizations that do that. https://nicuhelpinghands.org/programs/angel-gown-program/

A friend used to volunteer many years ago to visit an elderly home-bound person once a week. I am doing that and have been for years, but with a woman I worked with many years ago, not through an organization.

If you have a local library, they are always looking for volunteers to support the library, from manning the desk for a few hours to getting involved in fund-raising activities.

You could check if there is a local Red Cross. In our area they use volunteers to help sign people in and to sit with them in the canteen after donations.

If you're good with children, you can check with the local school for any volunteer opportunities they might have from being a helper in the classroom to reading to children.

My cousin is with her local women's club and each year they sew a quilt which they raffle off as a fund raiser. Perhaps something like that would work for you.

In our state, we have a "hot line" of sorts where you can talk to someone about volunteer opportunities in the area. Or call your local United Way and I'm sure they have a list of worthy nonprofits that are looking for help.

About the seniors, Meals on wheels that I participate in includes a small senior apartment complex. They are still rather fussy when it comes to personal interaction (covid). So I doubt any agency is encouraging home visits. And given our habit of wandering off out of town, I couldn't commit to a program.

I might investigate Project Linus, if they take sewn blankets. That could work.

Maybe this will help... https://elizabethmadethis.com/sewing-for-charity/

More great ideas, thanks. Annie's link has triggered a thought. My in-laws have been active with Samaritans Purse, and their church helps make up the boxes every year. I'll ask around there and see if they use hand sewn things. And I like the idea of asking for materials on Nextdoor.

Lots of good ideas here! I'd like to add:

Lap blankets for wheelchair patients in nursing homes and hospitals. These could be as plain or as fancy as you want to make them.

Chemo caps to donate for cancer patients. Here is one of several sites with free patterns.

I Googled "Sewing for Charity" and found several very interesting ideas there.

A couple of years ago, when I looked for information about 'Project Linus' in this area, I found they do take sewn blankets. But the person in charge of it is 50 miles from me, and it appeared to be practically inactive, so I've been crocheting caps for preemies, caps for the homeless, also caps for cancer patients. Crocheting is something I can do while watching TV, it keeps my hands busy and relaxes me.

Have fun with whatever you decide to do.

Rusty

You mention being in a small town, but is there a larger city within reasonable distance? If so, perhaps there would be more need for home made and donated items, such as gloves, hats, and scarves for homeless or disadvantaged schoolchildren. (you can make winter accessories, even gloves, without knitting or crocheting - it is a good way to recycle sweaters that have holes past the point of darning, for example, or scraps of felt/flannel). I collect needed items for the teen shelter, and drop it off every several months when I am heading in that direction for another reason. A place in a city near you might be able to figure out a way to get your donations, if you would never be driving there.

I understand how you are looking for some other thing to do. I feel much the same.

I am through with knitting and dont want anymore knitted anything.

I only sew now when I need a new pair of pants or maybe a new dress.

I dont care to do for charity as I feel that they are already over saturated with donations. I know that not all feel this way, but I do.

I also dont favor making things that no one needs, or wants. I see a lot of that and it is my personal opinion that no one needs anymore "plushies" or bags. Oh, gawd, the bags! How many bags does anyone need? That is all my own personal opinion. Yours may vary.

However, I do feel drawn to try my hand at simple weaving just for the learning and fun of it. But, I dont need anything. So, I am deliberating on it. I am considered to be "elderly" now and I am contemplating giving myself the gift of doing something fun but not useful. At my age it will be limited, anyway.

Upcycle sewing of remaking used clothing is attracting my attention, also.

I am seeing an interest in what is called "slow sewing". This involves hand sewing and a lot of freeform embroidery. Some are finding peace and satisfaction by hand sewing garments, many of them historic in design and nature.

I dont like to do things with no purpose, but would love to know something about simple weaving on a simple heddle loom, maybe about 18" wide, or so. I feel as if i have done so many of the other needleworks, but never weaving.

If you dont have travel or mobility problems, the national parks depend a lot on volunteers. I used to do that.

I make these ”click bags” and enjoy giving them away to nice people i meet. Or someone who looks like they could use a smile.

I would be happy to send you a bag and the instructions to make them!

Dang this site and notifications that don't work. I just stumbled on .replies. 🙄

I haven't settled on anything yet, but I have a couple of feelers out. Thanks for all the ideas!