Care to help out a homeless veteran?

I belong to a Ravelry group called Knitters for Obama. I first looked at the group more out of curiosity than anything else; I wasn't quite sure where my decision to support a particular political candidate intersected with my love of knitting. Oddly, though, I've come to treasure the group. By and large, it's full of smart, caring and funny knitters and crocheters. They keep me well-informed about current political developments, and they often make me laugh out loud.

We are currently working on a charitable project, making items that will be donated to a couple of shelters for homeless military veterans. We were inspired by reading about the shocking statistics regarding homeless vets: e.g., it is estimated that one-third of the homeless population -- 1/3!! -- are military vets. The Veteran's Administration estimates that over 150,000 U.S. vets are homeless on any given night. I suspect the number may even be higher. You can't drive half a mile without seeing a zillion cars displaying "Support the troops" magnets, but if we're all so busy supporting the troops, why are so many of them sleeping in cardboard boxes?

Anyway, our Knitters for Obama group is working in conjunction with a couple of homeless shelters, finding out what kinds of items they need and what guidelines they wish us to use. Right now, we are making hats, scarves and washcloths. It's important to me that we provide items that will be of beautiful quality and that will be suitable and useful for the recipients. So we've come up with some guidelines for participants to follow here.

If any of my readers would like to help, I will gladly collect any items you make and send them along with mine to the collections point(s). You can email me through the link in the sidebar when you have a finished item or items and I'll give you my mailing address. I understand that not everyone enjoys knitting for strangers, especially in connection with a politically-motivated group. But I would be deeply grateful for any items that you care to send that match our guidelines. (In fact, I would be so grateful that I would draw some names randomly from anyone who sends me an item and award a BBF prize or two...)

Thanks in advance for your support.