Scarves in the Park provide warm winter wear for those in need

A brightly coloured scarf tied around a tree gives people the opportunity to bundle up with extra winter clothing, but it also sends a much larger message.

“We just like to draw people’s attention to it. We know that there is homelessness (but) sometimes we need to be reminded,” said Kerry MacDonald, the president of Angels4Warmth Inc.

Scarves hang from trees in Victoria Park as part of a campaign to help those in need. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

MacDonald and other volunteers spent Friday decorating trees with handcrafted scarves in Victoria Park in the Scarves in the Park campaign.

Some 200 scarves arrived in plastic bins, all of different colours and patterns that were ready to be tied around trees.

“Last year I was assigned to the park to see how many people and see how many scarves there were and pick them up, but there wasn’t one left,” said MacDonald.

Angels4Warmth Inc. has been making warm winter wear for 20 years. Working with more than 40 non-profits, the organization has created winter items like scarves, mittens, toques and even quilts for cold winter nights.

“Sometimes you start something and you don’t see the end of it, so this is really great to see it come to fruition,” MacDonald said.

A few people took the opportunity to bundle up for the winter while the scarves were still being hung up. Volunteer Elaine Wourm was walking around the park with multiple scarves around her neck to be tied around trees when she was approached by a young woman and her child.

Wourm said the woman and her son picked up a scarf to stay warm for the winter, and wanted to thank the group for the warm winter clothing. The mother and son were displaced Ukrainians who arrived 10 days earlier.

“I love it,” said Wourm. “But I wish they would all come and talk so we are making sure it’s getting to the right place.”

Wourm sent the pair away with a scarf to stay toasty for the winter. She said these experiences with people in the city make all the hours of organizing raffles and donation pickups worth it.

“I’ve been doing this since it started for seven years now and it’s one of my highlights. I love it,” said Wourm.