No red tape, just warm hands

Dec. 4—Shelley Stone started hanging free hats and gloves from a tree next to her business in 2015 as a way to provide winter warmth to anyone in the community who might need it.

Six years later, the tree outside Moscow's Yarn Underground continues to be decorated with the giveaways November through March. Stone said she wanted a way to give back to the community without people feeling like they have to prove they need the help.

Stone's yarn shop is on the corner of Washington and Fifth streets one block east of Main Street. Stone said in the past six years she's found thank you notes tucked into the empty ziplock bags, and had people pop their heads into the store to thank the staff.

Stone said sometimes she'll walk outside to find donated children's coats or slippers along with the regular hats, gloves and scarves. Stone welcomes the donations, but asks that each item is clean and carefully placed in a bag with a note on sizing.

Stone said she isn't one for putting rules on people.

"So ... there's no red tape," Stone said. "We'll just put things there and if people feel that they have need, they can have it without me deciding for them. I think it's nice that people admit they could use a little help and take it."

Stone usually puts out a call through an email list when the weather gets colder every year, but most years she doesn't have to.

Until recently this year, Stone said she hadn't had time to put anything on the tree but, like clockwork, at the beginning of the month sandwich bags of knitted goods started appearing.

"Even if people aren't needy in their everyday life, maybe at this particular moment they're cold and they could use a hat," Stone said.

She uses the hashtag #chasethechill, a movement Stone said has spread across the United States in the past decade.

Inspired by the The Yarn Underground effort, the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse in Moscow has for the last five years or so worked with the Moscow Public Library to offer free winter clothing, said Ginger Allen, the church's director of family ministry.

Allen said they had been working on a social action curriculum with the children in the congregation and they thought it would be a great program to start.

The first year, Allen said she didn't keep track but estimates they gave away about 30 to 50 items. Fast forward about five years to 2020 and they gave away over 300 hats, scarves, mittens and or socks.

"People just seem in general really, really thankful," Allen said. "As I'm hanging stuff up, people will stop in their cars and say thank you."

The church generally does not make available coats or other large items like boots because sizing can be harder on those items. They instead are given to another local charity, Allen said.

"And so I know things are getting used, and I hope it's kids going to school who forgot their gloves — to people who really can't afford stuff and that's how their kids are getting warm," Allen said.

Anyone interested in helping package the items to hang or to donate to the Chase the Chill can contact Allen at ginger.allen@palouseuu.org or leave items in a dropbox at the Moscow Public Library at 110 S. Jefferson St. Items for the tree next to Yarn Underground can be dropped off at the store during their business hours.

The Yarn Underground is open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Kali Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.