FRAMINGHAM — Nanette Magnani traveled to Afghanistan in 1977 as a Peace Corps staff member to visit a country whose history of fierce independence she had read about so much during past years of volunteering in Malaysia and other countries. 

She left the country that same year captivated by an isolated-but-rich culture of multi-tribal ethnicities that she never forgot.  

Almost 45 years later, with August’s backdrop of the crisis that forced Afghan families to seek shelter outside their country, Magnani decided to do her part in helping incoming refugees. 

From her Framingham home, Magnani, 74, a retired consultant for many major organizations and agencies, organized a group of more than 15 knitters and crocheters from throughout MetroWest who meet monthly on Zoom to donate custom-made winter clothing to Afghan refugees of Greater Boston.

Gov. Baker:The state will be 'as helpful as we can be' for Afghan refugees

The group calls itself “Knitting with a Purpose.” 

“Probably most of them, if not all of the refugees coming from Afghanistan, would be Muslim, and we feel that they most likely will meet with some type of prejudice while they're here,” said Magnani. “We want the refugees to feel that we are welcoming and accepting of who they are.” 

Working with Catholic Charities, a national organization that works to combat poverty, the group gathered information on the ages of refugees and their sizes, so the group could craft custom-made winter accessories.  

In a two-week span, Magnani has made two donations for Afghan babies, toddlers, teenagers and adults. 

Their second donation on Dec. 17 consisted of 81 hats, 16 pairs of mittens, 13 cowls, 14 scarves, three sweaters, 13 shawls, one baby blanket, two stuffed animals, and several wash cloths and coasters.  

Previously:Massachusetts prepares for arrival, resettlement of 900 evacuees from Afghanistan

This was twice as much as the first donation.  

“We feel as though by giving them a personal gift as opposed to random dimensions, that they will know that there are people here in the United States, particularly in Massachusetts, that would be welcoming them,” said Magnani.  

In her West Roxbury home, Jenny Reed, 35, always looks forward to the monthly Zoom meetings to present her crocheting results.  

Crocheting was introduced to her by a Sudanese woman whom she met at a homeless outreach program.  

“That was something pretty meaningful to me," said Reed, an art therapist with a background in psychology. “Now I do traditional counseling, but art therapy is really my favorite because it gives you something to do with your hands while you talk about what's going on and what's bothering you and I think crocheting has been really useful, especially when I work with teens." 

Having volunteered in 2010 for the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan as someone who didn't speak the native language and wasn’t familiar with the culture, Reed understands how scary the world can be for an adult stranger and even more frightening to a child. 

She hopes that her crocheting accessories will relay a message of welcome to the Afghan children.  

Her specialty is children’s clothing, and she makes mostly hats. But she also crochets stuffed animals such as a raccoon, a fox, a skunk, and is looking forward to learning how to craft a squirrel. 

“I think it's a part of my personality of wanting to help and wanting to give back in any way I can,” said Reed. “I try to imagine folks coming here unexpectedly, who didn’t want to leave their home, and that can be really hard for them.” 

In Framingham, Judy Artley never wastes any yarn, and once she saw a flyer for Knitting with a Purpose, she immediately joined. 

A former computer systems manager of 30 years at Raytheon, she now collects yarn from friends and family and knits as part of many groups in the area, such as the McAuliffe Branch of the Framingham Public Library, the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and the Cancer Center at MetroWest Medical Center.

Having learned how to knit at age 12 from a book given by her mother, Artley mostly knits adult hats and scarves for Knitting with a Purpose. 

“Afghan refugees had to leave their homes in a hurry and not bring much with them,” said Artley. “Now they're in cold, wintry New England and I'm not sure how different that's going to be for them ... but I do know they will appreciate hats and scarves and mittens in the next few weeks.” 

Although the donations have yet to be delivered, the items have been welcomed by the Catholic Charities donation program on West Broadway, Boston. 

“I've been doing this work for about 25 years now, and this is the first time a group has come together such as Knitting with a Purpose to support our refugee clients,” said Marjean Perhot, divisional director at Catholic Charities. “We're really, really thankful.” 

Some refugees whom Catholic Charities shelter are not prepared to live in the harshness of Northeast winters, according Perhot.  

Coming from a mostly warmer climate, many refugees don’t own coats, mittens or gloves, prompting Catholic Charities staff to bring warm clothing to the airport upon their arrival.  

"All of their accessories will be on people's heads and on their hands,” said Perhot. “It's really, really amazing to just think about how practical and generous this gift is." 

Catholic Charities aids Americans and non-Americans in need with a combination of public support from the government and donations, said Perhot.  

It's currently collecting donations to help families and communities affected by the Dec. 11 tornadoes in Kentucky.  

In addition to Afghan refugees, Catholic Charities has accommodated migrant children who have emigrated from Central America, said Perhot.  

Apartments for those in need are in Hyannis, Ipswich, Gloucester, Brighton, Newton, Brookline, Somerville, Cambridge, Chelsea, Revere, Lynn, and other communities, said Perhot.  

She looks forward to presenting the donations of Knitting with a Purpose.  

“We haven't given out these particular items just yet, but people are extremely grateful of any donations,” said Perhot. “We do try to explain like where these donations come from so it’s clear to them that it's very kind people who want to welcome them that gave this or that. 

"We’ve found that it means a lot, especially because of the dignity of something brand new for people that have lost so much.” 

Next, Knitting with a Purpose will meet to put together yet another parcel of donations for Afghan refugees, said Magnani. 

As she knits, she doesn’t think of them just as people in need from another country.  

With the holidays in mind, she wants to also recognize the contributions of many Afghans who helped the American troops by interpreting for them.  

“I feel that most of the Afghans that they were relocating to Massachusetts, and certainly not all of them, had served with our own soldiers either as interpreters or as intelligence and certainly put their families at risk,” said Magnani. “I feel like we should have some kind of an acknowledgement of their service. 

“These gifts are to provide some kind of welcome and acknowledgement to them, even though it's not the formal acknowledgement from our government, but at least we of Knitting with a Purpose can do our part.”

Toni Caushi is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcaushi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tcaushi.