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Scarves 4 Cozy Kids
Oxford
Hero Story
In 2015, Alex VanHaren–a 15-year-old Oxford High School sophomore–created Scarves 4 Cozy Kids, a local MI charity to provide hats, gloves, and scarves to children in need. In the first year, Scarves 4 Cozy Kids provided 200 hats, gloves, and scarves to 5 local schools.
In the second year, over 1,000 items were given to 17 schools and 8 local organizations. In addition to scarves, they also supported a different local charity each month, and two charities all year long (pop tops for Ronald McDonald House and used eyeglasses for the Lions Club).
In the third year with the help of the community, they offered additional help by collecting various items in support of The Haven, Blessings in a Backpack, Oxford Library, K9 Animal Shelter, Baldwin Center, Oxford Community Schools (school supplies), Wounded Warrior Project, Oakland County Coat Drive, Fish, Good Samaritans, Angel Gowns, and St. Jude, plus over 1500 hats, gloves and scarves were given to local families in need.
In 2018, 19 Michigan schools were served by Scarves 4 Cozy Kids. In addition, they did year-round collections of soda pop tops for Ronald McDonald House, used eyeglasses for the Lions Club, and plastic bags for the Good Samaritans food drives. For their monthly collections, they collected used cell phones for seniors and victims of domestic violence, collected used blankets and towels for Heavenly Paws and K9 animal rescues, collected used books for Rochester RockIt, collected old wedding dresses for Angel Gowns, hosted a returnable pop can drive to benefit the Beagle Open to help local Boy Scouts that aren’t able to afford membership or supplies, collected school supplies for schools in need, collected personal hygiene items for the Haven who serves victims of domestic violence, collected used coats for the Oakland County Coat Drive, collected used clothing for Grace Centers of Hope, and collected canned food and non-perishable food Oxford Orion FISH food pantry.
4 years in, they had given out over 6,250 hats, gloves, and scarves to children in need in 22 local schools and over 20 charitable organizations! In addition, they did year-round collections of soda pop tops for Ronald McDonald House (40 pounds of tops), used eyeglasses for the Lions Club (over 400 pair), and plastic bags for the Good Samaritans weekly food drives. For their monthly collections, they collected two cars worth of building materials for Habitat for Humanity, collected six cars worth of used blankets and towels for Heavenly Paws and K9 animal rescues, collected over 2500 used books for Rochester RockIt, collected 18 old wedding dresses for Angel Gowns, hosted a returnable pop can drive to benefit the Beagle Open ($106) to help local Boy Scouts that aren’t able to afford membership or supplies, collected 3 carloads of school supplies for schools in need, and collected 3 carloads of personal hygiene items for the Haven who serve victims of domestic violence. For the remainder of the year, they also have the following collections planned: used coats for the Oakland County Coat Drive, used clothing for Grace Centers of Hope, and canned food and non-perishable food Oxford Orion FISH food pantry.
In 2020, the year started off really good with a car full of canned goods being donated to Oxford Orion Fish Food Pantry and two cars full of used towels/blankets/dog toys and cages for K9 Animal Rescue, and personal hygiene items to be given to soldiers stationed on duty. Later in March, the pandemic left them no other choice but to pause their collections since many partners were not accepting physical donations. Instead, they pivoted to 3D printing ear savers for first responders that had to wear masks all day. They printed what seemed like non-stop for months and donated hundreds of mask savers to local medical, fire, police, and grocery store workers free of charge. Scarves 4 Cozy Kids also collected monetary donations for Oxford Orion Fish Food Pantry and Good Samaritans (who also received a pandemic donation from Prudential) and Forgotten Harvest. They also collected personal hygiene items, toilet paper, and cleaning items to assemble kits to hand out to local families that were struggling to make ends meet because of job loss due to the pandemic. In August, with schools opening in person, they knew that community supplies wouldn't be allowed and organized a school supply drive to benefit North Branch Community schools. For the remainder of the year, they collected coats, luggage, and used winter clothing for the homeless in southeast Michigan, and hosted another school supply drive, wedding dresses for Angel Gowns, eyeglasses, and soda pop tops.
In 2021, they continued handing out hats/gloves/scarves. They also continued their year-long collections for Ronald McDonald House and the Lions Club. Their monthly collections will be geared towards animal shelters, cell phones for 911 phones for seniors and domestic violence victims, Angel Gowns, homeless shelters, Blessings in a Backpack, schools, military troops on deployment, and food insecurities.
Accomplishments since created as of 12/12/21:
9,200+ hats/gloves/scarves given out, partnering with over 50+ schools/non-profit organizations
106 pounds of Soda pop tops for Ronald McDonald House
451 used eyeglasses for Lions Club
2800 used books for Rochester Rock It Outreach Center
2 carloads of home improvement items for Habitat for Humanity
512 coats for Oakland County Sheriff's community coat drive
142 pieces of luggage/duffels bags/backpacks for homeless shelters
82 grocery bags of food for local food banks, Blessings in a Backpack, and $2500 donation
52 boxes of personal hygiene items for Haven Center for Domestic Violence
80 wedding dresses for Angel Gowns
69 boxes of school supplies for local schools
99 contractor bags of Food, blankets, towels, and toys for animal shelters
113 used cell phones for 911 phones for senior citizens and victims of domestic violence
Financial donations to Blessings in a Backpack, Wounded Warrior, Beagle Open benefiting Boy Scouts, Forgotten Harvest, and Oxford Orion FISH Foodbank
Scarves 4 Cozy Kids
Oxford
Hero Story
In 2015, Alex VanHaren--a 15-year-old Oxford High School sophomore--created Scarves 4 Cozy Kids, a local MI charity to provide hats, gloves, and scarves to children in need. In the first year, Scarves 4 Cozy Kids provided 200 hats, gloves, and scarves to 5 local schools.
In the second year, over 1,000 items were given to 17 schools and 8 local organizations. In addition to scarves, they also supported a different local charity each month, and two charities all year long (pop tops for Ronald McDonald House and used eyeglasses for the Lions Club).
In the third year with the help of the community, they offered additional help by collecting various items in support of The Haven, Blessings in a Backpack, Oxford Library, K9 Animal Shelter, Baldwin Center, Oxford Community Schools (school supplies), Wounded Warrior Project, Oakland County Coat Drive, Fish, Good Samaritans, Angel Gowns, and St. Jude, plus over 1500 hats, gloves and scarves were given to local families in need.
In 2018, 19 Michigan schools were served by Scarves 4 Cozy Kids. In addition, they did year-round collections of soda pop tops for Ronald McDonald House, used eyeglasses for the Lions Club, and plastic bags for the Good Samaritans food drives. For their monthly collections, they collected used cell phones for seniors and victims of domestic violence, collected used blankets and towels for Heavenly Paws and K9 animal rescues, collected used books for Rochester RockIt, collected old wedding dresses for Angel Gowns, hosted a returnable pop can drive to benefit the Beagle Open to help local Boy Scouts that aren’t able to afford membership or supplies, collected school supplies for schools in need, collected personal hygiene items for the Haven who serves victims of domestic violence, collected used coats for the Oakland County Coat Drive, collected used clothing for Grace Centers of Hope, and collected canned food and non-perishable food Oxford Orion FISH food pantry.
4 years in, they had given out over 6,250 hats, gloves, and scarves to children in need in 22 local schools and over 20 charitable organizations! In addition, they did year-round collections of soda pop tops for Ronald McDonald House (40 pounds of tops), used eyeglasses for the Lions Club (over 400 pair), and plastic bags for the Good Samaritans weekly food drives. For their monthly collections, they collected two cars worth of building materials for Habitat for Humanity, collected six cars worth of used blankets and towels for Heavenly Paws and K9 animal rescues, collected over 2500 used books for Rochester RockIt, collected 18 old wedding dresses for Angel Gowns, hosted a returnable pop can drive to benefit the Beagle Open ($106) to help local Boy Scouts that aren’t able to afford membership or supplies, collected 3 carloads of school supplies for schools in need, and collected 3 carloads of personal hygiene items for the Haven who serve victims of domestic violence. For the remainder of the year, they also have the following collections planned: used coats for the Oakland County Coat Drive, used clothing for Grace Centers of Hope, and canned food and non-perishable food Oxford Orion FISH food pantry.
In 2020, the year started off really good with a car full of canned goods being donated to Oxford Orion Fish Food Pantry and two cars full of used towels/blankets/dog toys and cages for K9 Animal Rescue, and personal hygiene items to be given to soldiers stationed on duty. Later in March, the pandemic left them no other choice but to pause their collections since many partners were not accepting physical donations. Instead, they pivoted to 3D printing ear savers for first responders that had to wear masks all day. They printed what seemed like non-stop for months and donated hundreds of mask savers to local medical, fire, police, and grocery store workers free of charge. Scarves 4 Cozy Kids also collected monetary donations for Oxford Orion Fish Food Pantry and Good Samaritans (who also received a pandemic donation from Prudential) and Forgotten Harvest. They also collected personal hygiene items, toilet paper, and cleaning items to assemble kits to hand out to local families that were struggling to make ends meet because of job loss due to the pandemic. In August, with schools opening in person, they knew that community supplies wouldn't be allowed and organized a school supply drive to benefit North Branch Community schools. For the remainder of the year, they collected coats, luggage, and used winter clothing for the homeless in southeast Michigan, and hosted another school supply drive, wedding dresses for Angel Gowns, eyeglasses, and soda pop tops.
In 2021, they continued handing out hats/gloves/scarves. They also continued their year-long collections for Ronald McDonald House and the Lions Club. Their monthly collections will be geared towards animal shelters, cell phones for 911 phones for seniors and domestic violence victims, Angel Gowns, homeless shelters, Blessings in a Backpack, schools, military troops on deployment, and food insecurities.
Accomplishments since created as of 12/12/21:
9,200+ hats/gloves/scarves given out, partnering with over 50+ schools/non-profit organizations
106 pounds of Soda pop tops for Ronald McDonald House
451 used eyeglasses for Lions Club
2800 used books for Rochester Rock It Outreach Center
2 carloads of home improvement items for Habitat for Humanity
512 coats for Oakland County Sheriff's community coat drive
142 pieces of luggage/duffels bags/backpacks for homeless shelters
82 grocery bags of food for local food banks, Blessings in a Backpack, and $2500 donation
52 boxes of personal hygiene items for Haven Center for Domestic Violence
80 wedding dresses for Angel Gowns
69 boxes of school supplies for local schools
99 contractor bags of Food, blankets, towels, and toys for animal shelters
113 used cell phones for 911 phones for senior citizens and victims of domestic violence
Financial donations to Blessings in a Backpack, Wounded Warrior, Beagle Open benefiting Boy Scouts, Forgotten Harvest, and Oxford Orion FISH Foodbank