Meet Laura Mah, founder of the Knit Fit Movement. Knit Fit is creating 200 scarves for Beauty Night clients by the December 25th. Laura has been running Knit Fit since 2003 at the tender age of 11! Present day, this vivacious 16 year old continues to do what she can to make a difference in the lives of women in the Downtown Eastside. about Knit Fit.
Beauty Night: Tell us about Knit Fit.
LM: Knit Fit first started in 2003, when I came up with the idea of getting a group of kids together in my elementary school to knit scarves for the less fortunate people of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. In our first year, we had about 40 kids get together and when Christmas came along, I had received 60 gorgeous scarves to give away at Caroline MacGillivray’s amazing organization, Beauty Night. Knit Fit continued until 2006, when the group decided to take a short break.
Now, here in 2008, Knit Fit’s back and we want to take this group to the next level. We currently have about 30 ambitious volunteers and the group is definitely growing.
Knit Fit is all about giving back. Though we may be making a small difference in our world, I believe we can make a significant difference in our community.
Beauty Night: What was it like as an eleven year old handing out scarves in the DTES.
LM: I remember the first day handing our scarves at Beauty Night! The experience was incredible. There was another time…it was close to Christmas time and it must have been my second time handing out scarves at Beaty Night.
I was standing there at my little scarf table and one of the security guards gave me a letter and he said that it was from a homeless man who was standing outside. I opened up the card and it said “Thank you, you have a way of touching other’s lives with your thoughtfulness. From the people of the downtown eastside. Merry x-mass and happy new year.” I still have the card! So to answer the question in short, I loved and still very much love volunteering.
Beauty Night: You have been involved with Beauty Night for a very long time. Tell me about the funding proposal you did for school.
In the Spring of 2008, many of the Grade 10 classes at my high school, Vancouver Technical Secondary, were asked to do a project for the Toskan Casale Foundation. This foundation had created a program called the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative. This program basically gives students the opportunity to work in groups and as a team, research and interview a particular non-profit organization. When the project is all finished, the students then have to present their organization infront of a set of judges, one of which is a representative from the Toskan Casle Foundation. The winner is then awarded with $5000 to donate to their organization that they presented!
I, along with 3 of my classmates, Kaja McNeil, Sadie Herbold and Tammy Nguyen, worked together and we proudly represented Beauty Night at the presentation. We made a short video which had clips of when we interviewed Caroline during a Beatuy Night, a poster, and a pamphlet. Although we did not end up winning the $5000 for Beauty Night, we all had such an amazing experiance while working on our project. We not only learnt about philanthropy, and Beauty Night, we also learnt so much about ourselves and each other.
Beauty Night: Why do you think Beauty Night is important?
LM: Where to start? Beauty Night provides so much more that just make overs and hair cuts. Literacy programs, fitness programs, and health programs are also programs that are apart of Beauty Night. These programs provide the women of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with not only skills and services, but also with fun and confidence.
Beauty Night: Why do you think the women like the scarves so much?
LM: I think the women like the scarves because they provide warmth during our harsh winter season. But aside from that, the scarves that we make are pretty good looking! Right now, I’m working on two scarves, one for Knit Fit, and one for myself!
Beauty Night: What can people do to help out?
LM: We are currently in need of knitting needles and yarn. Donated knitting needles, yarn or money would help us help others.
Beauty Night: What about people who have no idea how to knit but would like to get involved?
LM: New knitters welcome! even if you don’t know how to knit, it takes about 15 minutes MAX to learn.
Beauty Night: How can people find out more information about this project?
LM: As terrible as it sounds, I rely A LOT on facebook. Join the group ‘KNIT FIT.’ and check out the recent news. I always send out messages to everyone about a week advance before our meetings. If facebook is NOT an option, but you are interested in volunteering, I constantly check my e-mail and my phone is always on!
Beauty Night: I don’t think that is terrible – facebook is a great marketing tool. Beauty Night Society has it’s own facebook group.
Laura Mah, founder of Knit Fit can be reached at lorlah.mah@hotmail.com or778-386-3851.
