Catholic Charities Maine distributes free hats, gloves, and more at Wall of Warmth

In what has become a Giving Tuesday tradition, Catholic Charities Maine set up a Wall of Warmth outside its offices on Congress Street in Portland, giving away free hats, scarves, blankets, quilts, and more to anyone who needed them.

This year the Wall of Warmth was postponed a day until December 3 because of a Tuesday snowstorm, but it still drew dozens of people, happy to pick up items for themselves or their children.

“For the first time this year, we had lots of quilters contribute. We had lap blankets. We had car seat blankets. We had lot of baby blankets. It’s people just really opening up their hearts and making a difference with one hat, one pair of mittens at a time to warm somebody,” said Kelly Day, director of Volunteer Services for Catholic Charities Maine.

The Wall of Warmth, which began seven years ago, puts a different twist on Giving Tuesday. Instead of asking for donations, Catholic Charities Maine shares donations with others, seeking in spread a little warmth.

People and groups donate items throughout the year, which Catholic Charities Maine collects and then shares. Many are handknitted or crocheted. This year, donations came from as far away as Eagle Lake in Aroostook County.

“A lot of our knitters have come from Peaks Island, from all five churches in the Portland Peninsula & Island Parishes. They've also come from Biddeford, Brownfield, Cape Elizabeth, Clinton, Eagle Lake, Eliot, Falmouth, Kennebunk, Phippsburg, Portland, Saco, Good Shepherd Parish in Saco, Scarborough including the Scarborough Library Knitters, the Southern Maine Spinners and Weavers in Westbrook, and the St. Anne's Sodality Group from Gorham. We have some people send in one set of mittens, and then we had 300 brand new hats that we ended up getting from Eliot. People are very generous,” said Day.

A crew of volunteers helped Catholic Charities staffers set up the Wall of Warmth and helped folks find items.