- Title: Time of giving: Poles knit hats and scarves for people in need
- Date: 25th December 2019
- Summary: PEOPLE EMBRACING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT NEW HATS AND SCARVES DURING MEAL
- Embargoed: 8th January 2020 10:34
- Keywords: Christmas spirit Polish women knit for homeless gift-giving homeless people knitting
- Location: LUBLIN, POLAND
- City: LUBLIN, POLAND
- Country: Poland
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA002BBH3J21
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Whether on buses, trains, or while running errands, a group of women in the Polish city of Lublin knitted throughout December to make hundreds of hats and scarves for the homeless and people in need.
Volunteer and campaign co-founder Iwona Trofimenko said that she was motivated by the thought that the future is uncertain even for those who have a job and so she wanted to do something for those who were less fortunate.
Trofimenko took her knitting with her everywhere, even on her 40-minute commute by bus from Lublin to her workplace in another town.
Fellow volunteer and campaign co-founder Barbara Fatyga said she wanted people to realise that despite their busy lives they do have time to spare to help others.
The campaign also visited a local kindergarten to teach children about the value of helping others as well as how to design and knit scarves and hats.
For each hat and scarf set, the volunteers need to use more than of 300 metres of wool, meaning with hundreds of sets the amount of wool used stretches into several hundred kilometres.
On Tuesday (December 24) hundreds of people in need were invited to a Christmas Eve meal where the volunteers distributed hats and scarves.
People who received the gifts said they looked forward to wearing their new warm winter garments.
As well as the volunteers in Poland, donors in the Netherlands and Britain also sent in knitwear after hearing about the campaign on social media.
Trofimenko, Fatyga and Anna Augustyniak started the campaign last year, giving out around 200 sets of hats and scarves.
(Production: Robert Furmanczuk, Lewis Macdonald) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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