Free scarves available today at 23 locations
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (Nov. 9, 2023) – Scarves will be hanging up throughout the community today for people to take for free.
The Scarf Project’s eight-annual distribution begins around 9 am and continues until sundown at 13 sites in Tuscarawas County including the New Philadelphia Rite Aid, Panhandle Passage Park, Mineral City library, and Missions Cafe in Dover. Founder Toni Kaltenbaugh says they have over 2,000 new and handmade scarves to pass out between those locations and 10 others in the region, along with hats, gloves, and more.
“They’re all different sizes, all different colors. We don’t do scarves for babies because of the choking hazard but we do wraps for babies, which we have. We have scarves that are made out of fleece, scarves that are made out of yarn: fuzzy yarn, soft yarn. It’s just a little bit of everything.”
Nothing carries over from year to year, so any items left at the pickup sites at the end of the day will get bagged up and taken to places that will give them out to people in need.
“Some of the locations donate them to the schools. A lot of times the school secretaries know the kids that could use a little bit of help. They aren’t donated anywhere where they would ever be sold. Some of the gals take whatever is left over to the food banks, but they all go every year.”
A flyer listing the pickup sites for today is on the WJER Facebook page. Kaltenbaugh is already accepting donations for next year’s distribution, which can be left on the back porch of her home at 730 Tuscarawas Ave. in New Philadephia.