Noa Mellon isn’t just paying lip service to helping others, but has been crocheting and distributing warm hats, scarves, and gloves to the homeless of downtown Toronto for years. So great is the need for these items that Mellon, an employee of Kars4Kids, initiated a crowdfunding campaign to help increase her output: the cost of the yarn has become prohibitive. Kars4Kids got wind of Mellon’s “sideline” and donated $250 to the effort.
Mellon, a wife and mother of three, began by crocheting the items and sending them to organizations to distribute to the homeless. But three winters ago, she and her family members began distributing the items themselves. Noa wanted to see for herself the plight of the homeless during the bitter cold Canadian winters. And she wanted her family to see it, too.
Seeing just how bad it was up close and personal, increased Noa’s determination “to work harder, faster and do more.” Next, she had her sister help her design a gift tag to affix to the scarves so the homeless would understand these items were created just for them. Family members tie the scarves in downtown Toronto, in places where homeless people can retrieve them to fend off hypothermia.
And the need, apparently, is great. “As soon as we hang them, they are gone! There IS a need and my dream is to fill that demand, help keep someone who is cold, warmer and maybe give them a little dignity along the way because I pride myself on crocheting really nice scarves that will hopefully, cheer them up and make them feel special,” writes Mellon.
The gift tags on the scarves read:
I am not lost but I am happy you found me!
I was handmade for you by someone who cares.
If you are cold and you need me, please take me.
Noa hopes to raise a minimum of $5,000. She’d like to add hygiene products to include with the scarves in addition to her need to purchase more yarn. She is also looking to find volunteers to crochet and knit more scarves. As she put it, “My goal is to get more warmth out on the streets where it is so desperately needed. The goal is to crochet and knit all year long so that we are well armed with an overabundance of hand crocheted and knit scarves and hats to give to those in need when the weather turns cold and our homeless have nowhere to turn.”
A beautiful deed and an endeavor worthy of our assistance!
(Read about another heartwarming Kars4Kids employee story, HERE.)
