Share the Warmth
By Cindy Fertsch
It started with a small group of knitters in Indiana. Together they knit scarves and on Veterans Day they took the scarves to a park in their city where they knew homeless veterans tended to populate. They tied each scarf to a tree or pole with a kind note attached that explained that it is free to take. This small act of kindness exploded on the internet under the hashtag “Share the Warmth.”
Eileen Dillion of Ventnor saw this and was inspired. “ I’m not a knitter, I didn’t want to go that far, but I knew there was something I could do to ‘Share the Warmth’ with homeless people right here in Atlantic City,” said Eileen. She began collecting scarves. In only a few weeks, approximately 175 scarves had been donated. On Sunday
December 10th, Eileen along with four volunteers: Maggie McAdams of Marmora, Carmella Crisanto and her daughter Gab Crisanto of Margate and Mike Ferrie of Northfield hit the streets. They began tying the scarves, along with a kind note, to trees and poles in O’Donnell Memorial park in Atlantic City.
“At one point, we were drawing a crowd of onlookers that seemed intrigued by what we were doing,” said Eileen. She said it felt great to be out and helping others, especially during the holidays.
Eileen is no stranger to helping others. In fact, she is the Community Initiative Coordinator at Jewish Family Services in Margate. She also has a Facebook Page called FB-Angels which she uses to communicate and inspire others to create their own good deeds throughout the community. A second scarf drive and “Share the Warmth” is already being planned. Eileen mentioned that Martin Luther King Jr Day may be the perfect time. If you are interested in helping with “Share the Warmth” you can email Eileen Dillion at edillion1029@gmail.com
