Hard-working, crafty, local residents have been picking up their knitting needles, and unraveling their yarns for a great cause.

On Friday, Michaels at Wareham Crossing donated afghans, hats, and handbags to Turning Point, the Wareham-based day resource center for homeless and low-income people. The donated items were crocheted and knit by local residents and customers of Michaels.

Over the past year, the arts and crafts retailer, stationed a box outside their Wareham Crossing location. Anyone was welcome to drop off 7 by 9 inch knitted or crocheted squares. Once the box was full, Michael's sponsored 'Joining Parties' where local residents came into the store's craft room and assembled the squares into blankets and afghans.

“It's been a fun project, and it's nice to help the community, and it's important,” said Michael's Events Coordinator Dottie Andrews, “every month we had people coming in here, and we got more than we ever anticipated.” Andrews also said most of the the knit hats were donated by Wareham resident Diane Pierce.

The model for the joining parties was the result of Michaels teaming up with the organization Warm Up America!, a charity founded in the early 1990s by the late Evie Rosen, who had the idea to gather volunteers together in her yarn shop in Wisconsin, where they'd crochet colorful afghans and donate them to homeless shelters.

Judy Morgan, the volunteer from Turning Point who was on hand at Michael's accepting the donation said, “We have a little kids closet we call Baby Point, and they we have a closet for the grown-ups to go in, we have a lot of resources. We have a lady that comes by and drops of diapers. It's all done by volunteers, we are so lucky to have this in Wareham.”

Michael's will be continuing the drop-off box and scheduling more joining parties in upcoming months. Their next event is not scheduled at this time, but those interested are encouraged to keep a look-out on at the Events section of Michael's website at Michaels.com.

Turning Point's offices are located at Emmanuel Church of the Nazarene at 6 Rogers Ave., Turning Point is open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., to contact them call 508-295-9268.

For more information about Warm Up America! Foundation visit WarmUpAmerica.org.