Volunteer Rosetta Daniels ties scarves onto a tree in War Memorial Park for those in need. Daniels is participating in a campaign to help the less fortunate find protection during the cold winter months.
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Bonnie Barrett shivered at the thought of being on the street on days like Sunday, when after standing outside for minutes, a person’s skin can begin to feel like ice.
“It’s reading 19 degrees on my speedometer, right now,” Barrett said. “When I left the house this morning, it was about 15 degrees, with a wind chill of negative one.”
Barrett was at War Memorial Park, where she was joined by dozens of other volunteers looking to make a difference on the coldest of days.
The volunteers brought bags filled with scarves, hats and gloves. They then secured them around trees and iron railings of the park so that any homeless person who frequents the park can grab and go anonymously.
Barrett, who started the local initiative, said she was inspired to pay it forward, after hearing about a campaign called “Chase the Chill” that is taking place nationwide. A few days after seeing the information, Barrett said she created a Facebook page, which has since continued to grow.
“God came to me and spoke to me; he told me to pay it forward,” Barrett said. “When I logged on to Facebook this morning, there were so many people ready to support us. We would be hypocrites if we said it was too cold for us to do this.”
While the items offer a small amount of protection, some pieces also come with other gestures of kindness.
Rosetta Daniels, a volunteer who showed up early to hang scarves, worked to stuff free haircut coupons in some of the scarves Sunday afternoon.
“I saw this advertisement in the paper and I thought it was awesome. I couldn’t imagine being out here in this weather, and I want to do what I can to help,” Daniels said.
The items have been securely fastened, and Barrett said she received permission from the Parks and Recreation board prior to the event.
The helpful items will be available to those in need through Wednesday. After Wednesday, the remaining will be taken to the Martinsburg Rescue Mission to give out.
But Martinsburg was not the only part of the county to receive support over the weekend.
Joyce Kees, along with members of the South Berkeley Social Club, gave the campaign its own twist in the Inwood area by spreading the event community wide.
Kees called the South Berkeley initiative “Warm Hands, Warm Hearts,” which gave an opportunity for not only homeless around the area to grab some items, but will provide relief for young children as well.
“We don’t have the homeless population in Inwood as they do in Martinsburg, so we wanted to be able to do something different,” Kees said.
The group collected around 200 scarves, hats and mittens for those in need for the southern area of county.
Kees said the South Berkeley Social Club hung the items on Friday and Saturday around the Taylor’s Farm Market Park, and then removed the items at night. The organization will then deliver the remaining items that weren’t taken to area schools for children who are in need.
Together, Kees said the group collected around 200 scarves, hats and mittens for the South Berkeley community.
“Now when that little boy gets off the bus or walks out of his house, he will have a pair of gloves to put on.”
-Staff writer Chelsea DeMello can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 215, or twitter.com/cdemelloJN.
