In 2025, the Machine Knit Community is thrilled to celebrate its 5th birthday, and we are excited to announce our partnership with Tools With A Mission (TWAM) as our Official Charity for 2025/6. Together, we are embarking on a journey filled with events and activities aimed at raising essential funds for their incredible work.

TWAM collects unwanted usable tools, refurbishes them, and creates trade tool kits that empower individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa to build sustainable livelihoods.

Every year, through a dedicated network of volunteers in England and Wales, TWAM rescues nearly 400 tonnes of unused tools - including sewing and knitting machines - that would otherwise end up in landfill. Just imagine the impact: for only £35, we can provide a “full knitting machine toolkit” to one of their partner community groups in Africa, transforming lives one toolkit at a time. Even better, with £7,000, we can fill an entire shipping container with these vital resources and send it to those who need it most.

And so as part of our Birthday Appeal Fund, we have set an ambitious target of £7,000 over the next 12 months to fund one full container. We are organizing a series of engaging events designed to help us reach this goal. We invite you to join us—whether by participating in one of our events or making a one-off donation here. Every penny donated brings us closer to transforming lives through the power of tools.

About Tools With A Mission: Their mission is clear: collect unwanted tools, refurbish them into trade kits, and send them across the globe for livelihood creation. Each year they dispatch around 20 containers filled with over 300 tonnes of tools. They believe in empowering local people to support their communities through livelihood projects because they understand that there is dignity in work and the ability to provide for oneself and one's family can change everything. Together, we can help transform entire communities through training and the provision of essential tool kits.