Quebecers knit, donate tuques to Syrian refugees

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

Volunteers from across Canada have knitted thousands of tuquesafter the25,000 Tuques project was launched in Quebec inlate Novemberby Danielle Ltourneau.

Theinitiative was meant to help newcomers adapt to the coldas 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-Grce

The neighbourhood of NDG in Montreal helda 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 todo finger knitting andexperienced knitters helped volunteers new to knitting with their creations.

Lennoxville

When students at Lennoxville Elementary Schoolheard about the25,000 Tuques project, they thought it to be a good match for their classroom.

About 45 students at theQuebec's Eastern Townships schoolspent an afternoon earlier this week recyclingold 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-Rivires

InTrois-Rivires, a group of seniors comes together every Saturday afternoon to knit for Syrian refugees.

The group of about 15 women from Chartwell Jardins Laviolette residenceknits tuques, pairs of mittens and scarves tohelp the incoming 70 refugees expected to land in Trois-Riviresby the end of February 2016.

"They are in need," said residentThrse Beaumier. "Us, we're so wellhere. We live in a country of peace."