For the second year in a row, a group of knitters is making essential warm clothing items for the Santa Barbara-area community in the "Chase the Chill" annual event.
Chase the Chill project manager Carolyn Chaney has been knitting since high school.
"I can knit a hat in two evenings watching TV," Chaney said.
She’s one of many community knitters making hand-made items for this year’s Chase the Chill event.
"It’s all about trying to keep people warm," Chaney explained.
Hats, gloves, socks, and scarves, handmade or store-bought, are currently being collected at the Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Goleta — simple items that Chaney says can warm more than just your body.
"One time, a man took over a pair of socks to someone who was newly homeless and he put the socks tenderly on this man's feet and I was there. Seeing this brought tears to my eyes. Makes me cry just to think about it, how important a new pair of warm socks could be," she recalled.
Last year, around 200 items were distributed throughout Goleta and Isla Vista by the congregation.
"And we take them out and drop them and we put a little note that says, 'Take me if you like me or need me,'" Chaney said.
Items are placed at parks, community centers, and other public locations each week by volunteers like Jeanne Northsinger.
"And then we leave like we're elves — maybe nobody's ever seen us there! And so there's a magic to it," Northsinger said.
Volunteers re-visit donation sites frequently to monitor for bad weather and restock items.
"I love the beauty of the items that people have donated. It's so impressive how many handmade things and also some beautiful store-bought things people give for this project," Northsinger said.
Distributions will begin on Dec. 10 across Goleta and Isla Vista.
