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Community initiatives help fellow Guelphites stay warm

Tie One On and Chase The Chill both provide free hats, gloves and scarves

Trees and railings in downtown Guelph were adorned with new hats, gloves and scarves on Saturday thanks to a pair of community initiatives aimed at helping people stay warm.

Tie One On is an initiative started by Sian Matway and Ann Boyle Croft in 2015 and now in its third year.

Kortright Hills Public School was in the downtown core on Friday with its annual Chase The Chill campaign, a similar initiative involving donated hats and also including handing out free hot chocolate.

Both campaigns see donated hats, gloves and scarves are tied to trees and railings in St. Georges Square and other locations. The items are free for the taking for those that need them.

Helping Matway tie the scarves to trees and hang hats on Saturday were Melissa Otter and Justin Staines, a couple of individuals with intellectual disabilities that she works with through the Christian Horizons program.

Staines, used some of his money from his job at the Stone Road McDonalds to buy some of the scarves. Otter knitted five of the scarves.

"I like to give back to the community, especially the homeless people and people that don't have any money," said Otter.

"I gave one of my scarves to a homeless fellow that had no warmth," Otter said. "He loved it! Another man walked by and said 'that's a good idea, I should get one of those scarves'."

Otter uses knitting to help combat anxieties.

"Please help the homeless and people that don't have any money. Please help them to stay warm through the winter," she said.

"This is in their hearts, they do things like this all the time," Matway said of Staines and Otter, adding that she hopes they are an example to others.

"I'm hoping more people in the community will do this," Matway said.

Last year she estimates 300 items were distributed.

She said she would rather give them out by attaching them to trees and fences rather than just dropping them off at a community agency, which she also does.

"This way it's their choice. It's not just someone handing them something, they get to decide," she said.


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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