Union resident Helen Nix sits at her knitting machine, where she has made boxes and boxes full of sweaters and other garments for children in need in Appalachia and Haiti.

Back in the early 1900s, local church women began talking about ways to help the young women who were flooding into Winston-Salem to work at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Hanes Knitting.

PLATTSBURGH — Sixteen years ago, Eye Care for the Adirondacks started a knitting program, with the proceeds going toward the InterFaith Food Shelf. Over time, the project evolved into an annual charity auction.

It began as a mitten mystery six years ago. Every holiday season, the Employment Help Centre had set up a Christmas tree in its office [...]