Quebecers knit, donate tuques to Syrian refugees

As the first planeload of Syrian refugees landed on Dec. 12 at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport, Quebecers were ready to offer a warm welcome.

Volunteers from across Canada have knitted thousands of tuques after the 25,000 Tuques project was launched in Quebec in late November by Danielle Létourneau.

The initiative was meant to help newcomers adapt to the cold as they experience their first winter on Canadian soil.

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Here are some of the initiatives that have happened so far as a result:

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

The neighbourhood of NDG in Montreal held a knit-in Saturday, Dec. 12, to make tuques and collect donations just hours ahead of the first planeload of refugees landed in Montreal.

Children were encouraged to do finger knitting and experienced knitters helped volunteers new to knitting with their creations.

Lennoxville

​When students at Lennoxville Elementary School heard about the 25,000 Tuques project, they thought it to be a good match for their classroom.

About 45 students at the Quebec's Eastern Townships school spent an afternoon earlier this week recycling old sweaters into tuques for incoming Syrian refugees.

"When they come here, they're going to have nothing and it's going to be cold, so we're making hats for them," said student Olivia Bopaka.

The mixed-age classroom, which is comprised of students in Grade 4, 5 and 6, has been studying the refugee crisis as its educational theme since September.

Montreal's McCord Museum

Volunteers spent a Friday afternoon at Montreal's McCord Museum knitting en masse to help keep Syrians warm during their first Quebec winter. 

Dozens of bins were filled with tuques by the end of the day.

The museum is also holding a second knitting workshop on Jan. 15. For those who don't know how to knit, organizers are accepting balls of yarn.

Grandmothers in Trois-Rivières

In Trois-Rivières, a group of seniors comes together every Saturday afternoon to knit for Syrian refugees.

The group of about 15 women from Chartwell Jardins Laviolette residence knits tuques, pairs of mittens and scarves to help the incoming 70 refugees expected to land in Trois-Rivières by the end of February 2016.

"They are in need," said resident Thérèse Beaumier. "Us, we're so well here. We live in a country of peace."