The Scarf Project

This blog is not to “toot my own horn,” but instead to get you thinking about other ways that you can help children.

I have talked about my friend, Bonnie, in other blogs. She is a former foster parent, a fellow Lay Academy classmate and is the director of a homeless shelter for women and children.

Bonnie and I have shared many stories and tears about our kids and about the moms that we have dealt with both through foster care and now through her work at the shelter.

Bonnie has worked in various aspects of social services through the years. She is a dedicated and passionate woman about her work. When you talk with her, you can see and feel the love she has for the moms she works with.

Bonnie’s birthday is in November. Last year I had an idea come to me and it has now become “The Scarf Project.”

Most of the moms that Bonnie works with have kids in foster care and they are working hard to get them back. They are working their plans and trying their hardest. Some of the kids live at or visit the shelter regularly. In a previous blog I talked about how these moms struggled because at the end of the day they had little money left after paying child support, court costs, guardian ad litum fees, and so on. Having gifts for their kids when the holidays come is sketchy at best. They rely on the kindness of strangers.

This is how we got to “The Scarf Project.” As part of Bonnie’s birthday present, I got to work knitting scarves. I love to knit and I have a fairly significant yarn stash. I knit scarves in various colors, textures and lengths with various types of yarn. Some were fuzzy, some soft, and some very plain. I intended to give these to Bonnie to give to her moms. I did not know how many I would need, how many girls, boys or moms there were or any other details. I just felt a strong need to do this.

In total I believe I knit about twenty scarves. When I presented them to Bonnie, her joy was more than apparent. She told me that they often get hats and mittens from various charities, but they rarely get scarves. Bonnie took the scarves with her and the moms got to go through the pile and choose for their kids.

She told me a story that warmed my heart and I knew that what I did was worth it. One little girl had received a fancy dress and they found a scarf in the pile that matched her dress. They hung both the dress and the scarf on the door and she screamed and danced around when she saw them. Can you picture it?

This year I am just about done with a new set of scarves. I will see Bonnie next weekend and give them to her again, as part of her birthday present. I don’t know if she will be expecting it this year, or if she thinks it was a one-time thing. Either way, I know both she and the moms will have great joy in going through them and picking out just the right scarf for these kids. It makes it all worth it.

Photo credit – This year’s stash of scarves

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