It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to not have access to warm enough clothes in the wintertime. As it stands, there are many people who are either living on the streets, or don’t have enough money to purchase basic winter accessories such as scarves, hats and mittens.
That’s where “Warm It Forward”* comes in. The group has pinpointed three areas in Buffalo, where volunteers will tie various articles of warm clothing around trees and lamp standards, in anticipation that those who are in need will simply pluck the articles as they need them. The three locations are:
1. The corner of Broadway and Bailey Avenue, across from Rite Aid by the bus shelter.
2. Friends of Night People, 394 Hudson St.
3. The small park at Washington St. and North Division, diagonally across from the bus station.
People are being asked to check out the group’s Facebook page (see here) for further details. Donors are welcome to include personal messages if they wish. Some volunteers are even winding clothes lines around trees and utility poles, and then adding clothes pins so that baggies filled with necessities can be hung and protected from the elements.
The “Warm It Forward” idea has already proved to be successful in other cities, and is now appearing in Buffalo thanks to dedicated volunteers who understand the simple giving nature behind the mission.
For those that cannot make it to one of the designated donation sites, there are three drop zones around the region that have offered to help with the initiative on specific dates:
* Spot Coffee, 765 Elmwood Ave., from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 4.
* Barnes & Noble, 1565 Niagara Falls Blvd. in Amherst from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday Feb. 5.
* Project 308 Gallery, 308 Oliver St. in North Tonawanda, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday Jan 31.
*The name for the project was dreamed up by 19 IDEAS. See Buffalo Dream Weavers on Facebook for more information on this and other events of this nature.
Lead image: Chase the Chill in Winnipeg – a similar initiative to Warm It Forward