Knitted Knockers Support Foundation

Programs: Provide free breast prostheses to women who have had a mastectomy. A website, knittedknockers. Org is maintained where women can go online and order their free knitted knockers. These knocker orders are fulfilled by volunteers throughout the country. Knitted knockers support foundation (kksf) has created and provided through a network of volunteers over 26,000 knitted knockers in 2017. Media, speaking engagements and social media are utilized to help spread the word to recruit volunteers as well as reach out to the women who can use these gifts of comfort and dignity. Traditional breast prosthetics can be hot, heavy, expensive and can't be worn for some time after surgery. Knitted knockers are soft, light, huggable, can be worn in a regular bra and are free. There are over 50,000 mastectomies done a year in the us many of whom will wear a prostheses for at least awhile. The demand for knitted knockers has been huge with requests of over 1,000 a month coming in some months. Knitted knockers utilizes facebook (32,000 followers), instagram, twitter and youtube to help spread the word reaching out to the hundreds of thousands of women who have had a mastectomy and not been reconstructed. Knitted knockers has been on tv, radio, in countless newspapers, blogs and video productions (several viewed millions of times).

recruit knitters and crocheters. Our programs exist to inspire and equip thousands of volunteer knitters and crocheters to provide the inventory of knitted knockers to provide to the women requesting them through their own communities, medical clinics or nationally. This has occurred through the utilization of 204 "state providers" who fill orders from their various states that come in through knittedknockers. Org and over 4,000 registered groups of knitters and crocheters donating over 73,000 hours in 2017. Volunteers are recruited by going to crafting conventions where thousands of knitters and crocheters convene to enjoy their craft as well as manufacturers of yarn and needles thereby expanding the reach to potential volunteers to use their crafting skills to help others. Knittedknockers. Org provides patterns for knitters and crocheters (downloaded over 840,000 times), video tutorials on how to make great knockers, videos about knitted knockers (viewed over 400,000 times), and information for medical clinics on how to register and provide this service free to their patients. It is a one stop place for how to request free knitted knockers and how to supply them. In addition to the 73,000 hours donated by knitters/crocheters, an additional 11,700 hours have been donated processing and delivering knitted knockers in 2017.

support medical professionals to provide to their patients. Kksf supports over 550 medical clinics by providing brochures, knockers and other information free to their patients. Kksf connects volunteer knitters and crocheters with registered medical clinics to provide knitted knockers directly to them. Currently over 135 clinics have been "adopted" by local groups and the remaining 415 are supported by the network of volunteer "state suppliers" filling requests for knockers as they come in from their states. Medical clinics are reached by attending medical conferences to increase awareness in the medical community about the availability of this service for their patients. Happy recipients of knitted knockers also share with their physicians and encourage them to register with us.