KNITTING UP A STORM AND KEEPING PEOPLE WARM

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Kate Elterman. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

It’s not every day that a broken leg leads to the creation of an organization, but that’s Kate Elterman’s story. Back in 2022, Kate was looking for a mitzvah project, or community service project, to work on leading up to her bat mitzvah. Originally, she was baking cookies and handing them out to unhoused people on the street. After breaking her leg during a game of tag on Halloween, it became clear to Kate that maneuvering around the kitchen would be impossible. Her grandma had recently taught her how to knit, and she realized she could put her newfound love of the craft to work by knitting scarves for unhoused people to weather the frigid Chicago winters.

Kate started by teaching her friends how to knit and slowly expanded her circle at school. Demand soon grew, and even more people got involved. A competitive fencer, Kate used her time within that community to teach fellow fencers how to knit scarves. Wanting to take the group to another level, she established Knit Knot Knoop, an organization that aims to educate young people about the homelessness epidemic in a creative way through knitting. From hosting knitting events in nursing homes to running scarf drives where she teaches people the ins and outs of knitting, Kate’s mission is to share her love of the craft while also bettering the lives of others.

As Knit Knot Knoop grew, so did the number of people that Kate could help. She partnered with Ezra, an interactive cafe for unhoused people in Chicago, which works with the Jewish United Fund. Now they’re the official distributor of Knit Knot Knoop’s scarves, so Kate doesn’t have to walk around outside and hand out the scarves one by one. Instead, they can be distributed more efficiently.

The establishment of Knit Knot Knoop not only bettered Kate’s community but also helped the teen grow into herself. Previously uncomfortable speaking to strangers and talking in front of large groups, her volunteer work has served as a platform that has built a sense of confidence in Kate. Now a frequent public speaker who goes into new situations with ease, Kate has found a stronger sense of self through her volunteer work. Her dedication to bettering the lives of her unhoused neighbors and the positive ways it has affected her life is a strong example of just how powerful volunteerism can be on each of us.

What inspires you to volunteer?

When I first started doing this, I was a little girl. I saw unhoused people while I was walking to school and when I would drive to figure skating. I’d see unhoused people sitting outside in the cold. As I grew older, I learned more about the issue and how complex it was. Now I’m a young adult, I’m more interested in public health and homelessness, so I see how much of an issue this is and I just try to help as much as I can.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

This started as my mitzvah project for my bat mitzvah. I was baking cookies and handing them out to people on the street. Then I broke my leg, so I couldn’t really move around my kitchen as much. I wanted to think of something else that I could do, and my grandma had recently taught me how to knit. She suggested that I start knitting scarves for the unhoused instead. I really liked the simplicity and meditativeness of sitting down and knitting scarves. I could watch TV or even read a book. I began teaching my friends how to knit scarves and I thought about how this could help the greater community.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

I plan to do this for the rest of my life. It’s something that I can take with me anywhere I go through college, or when I work and when I fence, too, because it’s meditation. It’s very relaxing for me, and it’s also something that I could pass along to my kids eventually. I have chapters all over the world now. I have a few across the United States and one in Israel.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

I would say it’s seeing the smile on people’s faces when they get a row of stitches done when I teach them how to knit or seeing how genuinely happy people are to help others who are in need. It’s not just me or my friends. It’s so many more people than I thought, and they’re very happy to help anyone, even if they’ve never even seen the person that they’re helping. It’s seeing how excited people get and how they’re curious to learn more new stitches. There are many different ways they could knit a scarf. They get very excited. Also, how they show their friends, even after our session has ended.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I would say volunteering goes beyond the actual act of helping. You have to be able to talk to people you don’t know, promote your case, be patient and speak in front of big audiences, which was something that I struggled with before starting Knit Knot Knoop. It’s also something that I didn’t fully realize that I would have to do when I began doing it. But it’s helped me a lot and I think it’ll continue to help me with my future in any future career that I have. It’s also helped me in school when it comes to speaking in front of big audiences. Now I feel more confident when I speak to people and I can talk about it more freely.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

I think the world only gets better if each one of us does our part, no matter how little it is. We can only change the world by doing one good thing at a time. If you don’t do it, and you think someone else is going to do something good for the world, no one’s going to end up doing it, because everybody’s just going to think that someone else is going to. I think if we do our own thing in the world, no matter how small it is, the world is going to be so much better.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Ask for help if you need it. Don’t be afraid to help others if they’re asking for help too. A lot of people are also probably struggling to begin. I asked my sister to help me with my website, and I asked my parents for help and my grandma to help me learn new stitches. I would just say people will be more willing to help than you think they are. If you want to start volunteering, and you don’t know where, try one thing and then try another until you find something that you absolutely love. The more passionate you are about something, the greater impact it’ll have on others. You shouldn’t feel like the very first thing you try you have to commit to. You can try as many times as you want.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

I definitely struggled at the beginning to get my organization to where it is right now. I asked a lot of people for help, and I was very nervous at first. You should feel really passionate about what you do, because it will make an impact on people, even if you don’t think it will.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Kate? Find local volunteer opportunities.