Last year we started something I want to turn into a tradition — abandoning scarves for those who need them here in Baltimore!

Please join in for the 2nd Annual Baltimore Scarf Abandonment!

Announcing: 2nd Annual Baltimore Scarf Abandonment | Uncustomary

Just like last year, if you’re not local, you can still absolutely participate in this project. You just need to mail your donations to me by the end of 2017.

Mary England
PO Box 354
Linthicum Heights, MD 21090

(You can also request my home address so we don’t overwhelm the poor employees at my post office. Just e-mail me.)

The scarves can be handmade or store-bought. You can knit, crochet, purchase, or donate as many scarves as your heart desires!

Like last year, I want to add a tag to each scarf that has a positive message on it. Something like “You are loved”, “You are very beautiful”, etc. If you can make these yourself and attach it with a safety pin, that would be ideal! Otherwise I’ll be making them all myself.

Yes, you can also donate hats and gloves to keep people warm! We’re focusing on scarves, but I’m absolutely not turning away donations. If you do send gloves, please consider connecting them with a string and safety pins so they are easier to hang on the posts/don’t get mismatched.

We’ll be abandoning these scarves on January 13th at the park on the corner of President and Fayette Street where many homeless people sleep. It’s surrounded by a fence, which is a great opportunity for us to tie a bunch of scarves to the posts for people to take! (Use the Phoenix Shot Tower as a landmark to get to the park! It’s right across the street!)

If you’re local, feel free to save your scarves till the day of the installation. You can also come visit me on December 30th from 11 am to 1 pm at 3 Bean Coffee on Key Highway to drop off your donations. If you would like an earlier drop off (so you can circumvent postage costs), please e-mail me at mary@uncustomary.org and we can work something out.

If you do come the day of the installation, you want to get there as promptly as possible. People were taking the scarves off the posts as we were putting them up and we were done in like 20 minutes. So if you’re late, you’re going to miss the action. Be on time!

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FAQ:

FAQ #1:

 | Uncustomary

FAQ #2: Can you donate hats and gloves?

— Yes. We’re focusing on scarves, but I’m not in the business of turning away helpful donations! If you are sending gloves, please consider attaching them with a string and safety pins to ensure they stay together and also make it easier for us to hang them on the posts.

FAQ #3: If I’m local and I’m not coming to the install, can I drop off my stuff instead of mailing it?

— Yes (although I wish you were coming to the install!). Check the event details for information on a local drop off in December, and if you would like to schedule an earlier drop off, e-mail me at mary@uncustomary.org.

FAQ #4: Do I have to make the tags with the positive messages?

— No. I’m going to make sure everything I personally bring to the install has a tag on it because I think it adds a personal touch, so if you don’t make a tag that means I have to make it, so it would be nice if you could make it and send it along with your donation. But it’s not required. You can use cardstock, construction paper, precut tags from the craft store, string, safety pins, markers… super easy. Just write something positive, even as simple as “Have a beautiful day!”

FAQ #5: Why aren’t you doing this as soon as it turns Winter/earlier?

— Because it is unfortunately difficult to get people to come to events/commit to things during the month of December with the holiday season. I promise you it stays plenty cold in Baltimore well past February usually, and these scarves will be put to use. And we’re also making this a tradition, so hopefully more and more people will have scarves available to them!

FAQ #6: Can I share this event information in my publication, etc.?

— Yes. Share, share, share! If you’re going to put it in an official thing, maybe just take out the part about my home address being an option and stick with the PO Box. 😉 But the more people the Uncustomerrier!

I’ll be adding more FAQ as they come in both here and in the discussion section of the event. If you have any specific questions you don’t think have been answered, feel free to ask them in the discussion or e-mail me at mary@uncustomary.org

Thank you so much for contributing to this cause. Let’s keep Baltimore warm!