GREENFIELD — With just dozens of the more than 1,000 items placed on the Greenfield Common remaining as of Monday afternoon, The Scarf Project’s seventh annual donation of scarves, mittens and other warm clothing proved to be another success.

Each year around Thanksgiving, the group comes together to knit scarves and hats, as well as collect mittens, socks, stuffed animals and Christmas ornaments, to adorn the Greenfield Common. All the items are free and available for anyone to take, as the intention is to give back to the community.

“I have had hard times myself and I just remember the kindness of people and I wanted to give back,” said Wendell resident Sandra Cross Beebe, who started The Scarf Project and has seen it grow from two people to a group of more than 300 from around the region. “It’s really a team effort. … It means a lot to me. I don’t how to put it any other way, it just means so much to be able to help.”

In all, The Scarf Project provided 169 pairs of socks, 107 hats, 133 pairs of mittens and gloves, 300 scarves, 16 blankets, 88 stuffed animals, 550 Christmas ornaments, six sets of children’s hats and blankets, and 100 items for babies.

All of the scarves, along with the vast majority of the hats, were handmade by Cross Beebe, her family and the community. She knitted 70 scarves, while her cousin Donna O’Connor crocheted 150 scarves.

“Everything is made with love, for people we don’t even know,” Cross Beebe said, adding that her husband, daughter and grandchildren also help with the donation. “I want to teach my grandchildren to give back.”

Cross Beebe said times are tough for so many people, and The Scarf Project is a way she and many others can give back, whether it’s one scarf, 100 scarves or moral support. The Scarf Project was founded on the principle of “community helping community,” and she said the need is likely as great as it has ever been.

“It’s hard. People, they can’t even pay their rent, they can’t buy food, so if I could help them just a little, that’s good enough for me,” she said. “It’s the difference between them not being warm and warm.”

The annual donation typically takes place around Thanksgiving and items are collected or knitted throughout the year. To join The Scarf Project or for more information, visit its Facebook group at bit.ly/3ZzynD9.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.