Winnipeg group seeks mittens, hats to help keep Syrian refugees warm

Winnipeg's knitting community is locking their needles together in an effortgive Syrian refugees expected in the city soona warm welcome.

Ram Wools Yarn Co-op is asking for donations of hats, scarves and mitts to give to the up to 2,000 Syrian refugees that will soon be calling Manitoba home. They are among the thousands of refugees Canada has pledged to accept.

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"One of the people in the knitting and yarn community contacted us and said there was an online group inToronto that was organizing hats, mitts and scarves for refugees,"said Lori Franko, a co-ownerwith Ram WoolsYarn Co-op. "We figured OK, let's do this and we put it on Facebook and away we went."

All donations collected will go to Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM) or to the Red Cross.

Franko says there is no deadline to donate but that they are hoping to collect as many cold-weather clothingitems as soon as possible.

"People are doing charity knitting all year round,"Franko added. "As soon as you [see] there is a need, they are there to fill it. It's amazing to see how generous they are with their time."

Those with hats, mitts and scarves to donate, or supplies to knit winter gear, are asked to drop them off at theRam Wools shop at 989 Portage Avenue.

"The need is endless,"explained Franko."It's cold here. People need these things."

Ram Wools plans to add a 'thermometer' feature to itswebsite to measure the campaign'sprogress.