Sunday, December 12, 2010

Special Olympics Scarf Project 2011

Although I will not have time to participate this year, I wanted to let you all know about the Special Olympic's Scarf Project 2011! I took the information below from the website, so please visit it here to find out more! Along with my new little brother having Down Syndrome, and our family has a special friend, Corrin, who also has Down Syndrome, and has participated in the Special Olympics before! People with Down Syndrome are not people to be afraid of - they are very SPECIAL people who just were blessed with an extra chromosome. It would really mean a lot to someone if you made a scarf for them to keep them warm!

What is the Scarf Project??
Handmade scarves donated as a result of the 2011 Special Olympics USA Scarf Project will be a symbol of unity, support, compassion and empowerment, as the Special Olympics athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters wear them with pride in knowing they have become part of the Special Olympics family.



The idea for a scarf project resulted from an opportunity to provide a gift of welcome for the athletes of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Boise, Idaho. A call went out for 5,000 Red Heart delft blue & white scarves, and by Games time nearly 60,000 scarves had arrived from every state in the U.S. and from 12 countries around the world. (watch the video)


Special Olympics Idaho, then, carried on the tradition with their own state scarf project in 2010, and again the knitting and crocheting communities opened their hearts and put their needles and hooks to work. Over 2,100 Red Heart cherry red and grey heather scarves arrived from 48 states in just five weeks for the Idaho State Winter Games, and the celebration of unity began as they were presented to the athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters during the Opening Ceremony – for all to wear throughout the Games.

Now in 2011, the Special Olympics USA Scarf Project is spreading its wings and going national! You can now choose any of the 33 participating Special Olympics Programs to support! Our goal is to give knitters and crocheters the power to select which Program they want to support and help create an unprecedented sense of unity, support and community for the athletes and the Special Olympics Movement as a whole.

For more information on official colors, deadlines and participating Special Olympics Programs, visit the Scarf Project Guidelines page, or please refer to Frequently Asked Questions.

You can also visit their Free Patterns Page. Please make sure you use the two colors they want you to use though - Red Heart Super Saver 886 Blue, and Red Heart Super Saver 512 Turqua! Deadlines will differ by state but I do know that there isn't much time left so go find your hooks and needles!

Thank you for considering to make a scarf or two or a hundred!! :)

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