Half a world away, impoverished Afghans will face winter temperatures that can dip below freezing, and many of the people are too poor to afford warm clothing.

Natalie West, senior assistant attorney for the city of Sunnyvale, has already knitted and donated 15 little wool hats to the San Francisco-based nonprofit called afghans for Afghans.

"It's different from what I do day to day. It's a nice change for me," West says.

The humanitarian project founded by Ann Rubin after 9-11, has a goal of collecting 5,000 wool knitted and crocheted hats, mittens, sweaters, vests and blankets by Sept. 16 in order to reach the Afghan people by winter.

It has sent more than 30,000 knit and crocheted pieces over the years, but Rubin stresses that while the amount sounds impressive, the number of people still in need is overwhelming.

"We try not to focus on the numbers," she says.

Rubin does focus on numbers though, small numbers.

"If [someone] only has time to make one warm wool hat, it will make a difference for a kid this winter," she says.

The Sanford family of Sunnyvale has taken that thought to heart.

Hannah Sanford, a nine-year-old Lakewood Elementary School fourth-grader, loomed a wool hat for the project, and her 13-year-old sister and mother added three more hats.

"People want to make something with their own hands. It's a different kind of gesture. It's done out of friendship, respect and concern," Rubin said.

Rhina Sanford, Hannah's mother, said she learned about afghans for Afghans from members of her church when her daughters were attending a girls camp earlier this summer, and the yarn was donated by Cranberry Hill Mercantile on El Camino Real.

Donors learn about afghans for Afghans through word of mouth and the web, Rubin said she "couldn't never have done this without the Internet."

Donations are coming from all across the country and Canada, and were it not for the longtime friend of West's--Missy McIver of Columbia, S.C., whose hat appears on the head of a young Afghan child on www.afghansforafghans.org website--she might not have become involved.

"My college friend came to visit from South Carolina and she brought a whole box of hats to give to Afghans," West said. "[She] brought 45 wool hats."

West said she is never far from her knitting needles.

"I always have a little bag of knitting. When I have a chance I knit a little bit. The organization has a big challenge ahead of it," she said of the Sept. 16 goal.

Rubin is quick to give credit to the organization's relief partners, such as American Friends Services Committee, the group that sorts, packs and ships the hand-made wool pieces to Afghanistan (They can always use help, she says. And there's also International Orphan Care that receives and distributes the goods in Afghanistan.)

Without the partnerships, Rubin's efforts would be in vain, she says.

"There aren't too many relief groups who send goods," she says.

It's not just the cost of shipping, though that alone can be discouraging. Knowing the ins and outs of international shipping, customs and logistics is what it takes to get the donations in the hands of those who need them--or in this case, it's who can help get the mittens onto the hands of those who need them.

"A shipment can be impounded for nothing, and you have to pay a lot to get it out. That's why relief agencies want money," Rubin says.

Often it's easier and less expensive for relief agencies to purchase needed materials closer to the site where they will be delivered, but groups like afghans for Afghans involves people giving handmade goods from far and wide.

"Part of the project is learning to give what people need. We don't take used things. The point is to make something new. It's part of showing respect toward the recipient and their dignity," Rubin says.

The organization has also put a great deal of thought into what material is used, they say, is wool.

"We don't take acrylic. Acrylic doesn't insulate," Rubin says.

While cotton is a natural fiber, it can't do the job wool can in those zero-to-teen temperatures.

"It's important to send the most useful things," she said.

For more information about afghans for Afghans, visit www.afghans forafghans.org.