Hundreds of free scarves, gloves and winter hats will be waiting for anyone who needs them on Thursday, Nov. 13, as The Scarf Project holds its annual Scarf Day at public locations across Portage, Stark, Tuscarawas and Cuyahoga counties, according to reporting by The Canton Repository.
The volunteer program collects new scarves, hats, mittens and gloves — and the yarn to make them — all year long, then distributes the items at easily accessible public locations so people facing Ohio’s coldest months can simply take what they need, co-coordinator Aimee Rufener told The Canton Repository. All donated items must be new, and everything collected is stored at The Hill Hope Center in Uhrichsville.
In Stark County, Scarf Day items will be available in Alliance at the Family Dollar at East Main Street and South Union Avenue and at the Alliance YWCA on East Market Street; in Canton at The Canton Repository building on Market Avenue North and the Hall of Fame City Ice Rink on Tuscarawas Street; in Massillon at the Massillon Family YMCA on Tremont Avenue Southeast; and in Navarre at the Towpath Trail YMCA on Market Street Northeast, The Canton Repository reported.
Tuscarawas County has the longest list of stops. In Dover, items will be at St. John United Church of Christ on North Wooster Avenue, the Medical Suites behind Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital, and Missions Café on West Second Street. Other Tuscarawas locations include the Restoration Center in Gnadenhutten, the corner of State Street and Barnhill Road in Midvale, the Nicole Donant Library in Mineral City, the former Rite Aid property and the Tuscarawas County Public Library in New Philadelphia, the Community Center of Southern Tuscarawas in Port Washington, Strasburg Village Market, St. James Lutheran Church in Tuscarawas Village, and The Gazette at the Panhandle Passage trailhead in Uhrichsville, according to The Canton Repository.
Portage County’s distribution point is Brown Middle School on South Scranton Street in Ravenna, and in Cuyahoga County, items will be available at Absolute Care on Magnolia Drive in Cleveland, The Canton Repository reported. The spread of locations is the point: the giveaway comes to where people already are — schools, libraries, churches, YMCAs and storefronts — rather than asking anyone to travel to a single warehouse or prove they qualify.
The Scarf Project was founded by Toni Kaltenbaugh, who retired in 2025, The Canton Repository reported. Rufener and Jeremy Stills now run the program; both work for Cooper Standard Industrial and Speciality Group in New Philadelphia. The project accepts donations year-round — yarn, hats, scarves, mittens and gloves — with drop-off sites at Bolek’s Crafts in Dover and the Claymont Public Library in Uhrichsville, according to the Repository’s reporting.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on. What is known: Scarf Day is Thursday, Nov. 13, the items are free, and the full location list spans four counties, with the heaviest concentration in Tuscarawas and Stark counties. What is not specified in the announcement: set distribution hours for each location, and how long supplies are expected to last at the busiest stops. Anyone planning to visit a smaller location may want to go early in the day.
For information, to suggest a distribution location, or to donate yarn, residents can contact Aimee Rufener at 330-340-0474, The Canton Repository reported. Donations are accepted all year, so a missed Scarf Day does not mean a missed chance to help — every hat and scarf given this winter becomes part of next year’s supply.
The project is one of the season’s neighbor-to-neighbor efforts across Ohio, in the same spirit as the Findlay family who received the keys to a Habitat for Humanity home built with Marathon Petroleum volunteers this week — local people, local donations, and a direct handoff to the neighbors who need them.
Before you go: no sign-up, purchase or proof of need is mentioned in the project’s announcement — the items are placed at the listed public locations for anyone who needs them. Because the giveaway depends entirely on what volunteers and donors have produced and given over the past year, selection and sizes will vary by location, and the most popular stops may run low before the day ends.
What happens next is simple and immediate: the scarves, gloves and hats go out on Nov. 13, and the collecting starts again. With Ohio’s coldest months still ahead, organizers say the year-round donation pipeline — yarn in, finished winter gear out — is what makes a single day of giving possible.
Photo: LoomKnitter88, CC BY-SA