A 71-year-old retired woman still cherishes the act of giving to others. Suzanne Volpe has dedicated the past 10 years to a passion project called "scarf bombing," in which she collects scarfs all year round and then leaves them in public spaces for those in need to take during the winter months.
She first heard about scarf bombing in 2014. "I saw a Facebook post. One of my friends tagged me and said, 'Hey, look, somebody's doing this.' And they were putting scarves on trees," she told Good Morning America. "I have a friend in Connecticut who jumped on it and did it and called it a scarf bomb and I said, 'Oh, somebody should do that here.' She said, 'Well, you're somebody.' I was like, 'Well, yeah, I guess I am.' And that's how it started."
So she began crocheting scarves herself and scarf bombing areas in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she previously lived. "I've always liked to crochet, and when you crochet or knit, at some point, all your friends have Afghans and scarves and you run out of people to give things to," she explained. "So I enjoy every bit of it. I enjoy crocheting. I enjoy getting together with people to make things, and I love, love, love putting them out, especially when you see the reaction of some people. They're so appreciative."
In 2015, Suzanne launched the Scarf Bombardiers Facebook group to encourage others to join her project. "We collect scarves all year round and then we put tags on them so people know to take them," she said. "[The tags] tell people, 'If you're cold, take this.' And then we try and pick areas where there's a lot of foot traffic and where there might be need and we just go and tie them on the fences or poles or whatever seems appropriate. Bus shelters are really good, too."
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The group of volunteers collect and drop off anywhere from 25 to 50 scarves per outing around Pittsburgh. "As a result, I've had other groups form because of some of the [media] coverage we've had," Suzanne shared. "I have one in Blairsville … Kittanning [and] the Harrisburg one is still going strong."
