Child and Family Services urges joining the Red Scarf Project

Press release

The state’s Child and Family Services Division is urging people who knit or crochet to participate in this year’s Red Scarf Project. 

The project, a partnership between the Montana Chafee Foster Care Independence Program and Reach Higher Montana, is collecting and delivering homemade red scarves to youth in foster care during the holiday season.

The Red Scarves will be included in care packages for all Montana youth currently or previously in care who are pursuing postsecondary education. The services offered by the MCFCIP are intended to help Montana foster youth learn the life skills they need to make a successful transition into adulthood.

The Red Scarf Project ensures that Montana’s foster youth receive a homemade gift during the holiday season.

“It’s so important that our foster youth continue to feel supported as they work hard pursue their educational goals,” DPHHS Director Richard Opper said. “In addition, the Red Scarf Project is a terrific way for those who enjoy the craft of knitting or crocheting to give back to their community.” 

Reach Higher Montana partners year round with DPHHS to offer various programs that support Montana’s foster children in their efforts to attain postsecondary education. “This project touches the lives of so many foster youth in Montana,” said Rhonda Stafford of Reach Higher Montana. “It lets them know that we’re thinking of them, and that we’re extremely proud of all their hard work.”

Scarves should be roughly 60 inches long and between five and eight inches wide. They should be gender neutral and tie with ease. The scarves can include other colors, and other shades of red, but should definitely include red. The scarves will be distributed in late November.

According to Tessa Littlefield, for a special touch, the scarf could include a tag saying “Made with Care for You” and the first name, city, group affiliation, if any, of the person who created the scarf.

The finished scarves can be mailed to:

Tessa Littlefield at the Child and Family Services Division, 301 S Park Ave., PO Box 8005, Helena, MT 59604-8005, or to Rhonda Safford, Reach Higher Montana, 40 W Sixth Ave., Helena, MT 59601.

For more information, people clan contact Tessa Littlefield at [email protected] or 406-841-2404.