The Red Scarf Project

Red Yarn for a Cause

For this blog post, I want you to remember back to when you were starting college. For me, that means going back almost 20 years. For some of you, it might be longer, for some of you, that might be last week. College was the start of an incredible adventure for me. I was excited about starting a scientific career, meeting new people, being on my own and getting to pick what I was going to have to dinner. The feeling of independence was absolutely incredible. At least until I came face to face with a regularly empty mailbox. Who knew an empty mailbox could make me feel so lonely? Those days when I got mail, especially mail from home or from another friend at school, those were always great days. And there was absolutely nothing quite like turning the combination lock on my mailbox to open and finding the slip that indicated that I had an actual package!

My mom put the best care packages together. I remember one box that came right before my winter exams in December. In it, in addition to a gallon sized container of Pepperidge Farms Goldfish (still one of my favorite snacks) and some other indulgent food items and some cute office supplies that she had hand stamped to personalize, my mom included a miniature Christmas tree that came complete with a small set of lights and some ornaments. Getting that box from home reminded me that 1800 miles away, there were people that loved me and knew what I liked. People who would support me on my road to becoming an independent adult. It was a wonderful feeling to know that no matter what, somebody cared and wanted me to be successful in what I was doing.

But not all college kids that have worked hard enough to get to college are lucky enough to have that kind of support once they get settled in their dorm rooms. Imagine what it would be like knowing that you didn't have any support structure somewhere to help you through the rough patches. How tough would it be knowing that your mailbox was going to be empty most of the time?

The Orphan Foundation of America (OFA) is working hard to make sure that these students know that someone out there does care about them. Their Care Package Programwas set up to make sure that these students who have worked so hard to try to achieve their goals know that there are people out there who do support them and want them to succeed.

The Red Scarf Project is one of the ways that us fiberly inclined folks can reach out and cheer these students on as they try to achieve their dreams. For Valentines Day, the OFA wants to send out a very special set of care packages -- one that really lets these students know that people out there care enough to invest their own time in creating something for them. These care packages will all contain a handmade red scarf. If you knit, crochet, or weave and have some red yarn and want to help make someone's college experience a little brighter, I'd really like to encourage you to take part in this project. Here's the basic parameters that you need to know about:

• Size: approximately 60” long and 5” to 8” wide. Scarves should be long enough to be wrapped around the neck with tails long enough to be tied in the front.
• Style: Think unisex collegiate. Fringe optional. Should drape, tie easily and be soft.
• Color: Red! This could mean burgundy, cherry, russet, red stripes with other colors, multicolor hues including red. Other unisex colors, including black, navy, gray, teal, olive or gold, are also welcome.
• Finished & tagged: Yarn ends securely sewn in. For the personal touch, attach a tag saying “Handmade for You” with your first name, city, and group affiliation, if any. Donors have also included washing instructions, messages of encouragement, and gift cards/burger bucks/book of stamps.

For more information, I whole heartedly encourage you to check out the OFA website for the project, and to check in at the special Red Scarf Project 2007 blog that Norma, the blogger who I found out about this effort from, is hosting to provide information, encouragement, and progress reports for and by those who want to participate. Norma did a great job of getting the word out last year and she's working hard this year, too, to make sure that this project gets noticed.

I'm trying to get some local energy moving on it as well. Myself and a number of other very cool people in the ChicKnits KIP group are going to be knitting up a small storm of scarves. Bonne Marie very kindly created this very fun button to help us kick off our efforts.

If you are in Chicago, I'd like to encourage you to knit along with our little group. In early January, we're going to have a "scarf fashion show" and gather up all the scarves and send them on their way to the OFA -- I'll post more about this closer to the date. Even if you're not in Chicago, I'd like to encourage you to take part in this project and be a part of our little group. I'll happily make sure that any scarves that get to my house at the same time will get included in the package to the OFA.

So dig through your stash, find some red yarn, and plan to make somebody's Valentine's Day a special one in 2007