Fabric of Kincardine shines brightly as the plaid of a kilt

To the Editor:

I’m a knitter, and I love exploring how multiple strands of varying colours and thicknesses can either create works of art or crazy messes which need a “do-over.”

The same goes for the projects that I enjoy being part of – sometimes, they overlap in ways which make messes of my planning and other times, they support and enhance each other in unexpected ways.

Right at the moment, I’m in the thick of a prime example of the overlapping and entwining of the challenges that motivate me.

It’s the time of year when my church undertakes to collect children’s clothing - gently used, clean and in good repair – so that we can offer them to those families that are struggling to stretch their low incomes to cover the needs of their family. Those families’ “fabric” can get pulled mighty thin!

Knox Presbyterian Church, Kincardine, will offer the free clothing Aug. 14, from 6-8 p.m.; and Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The overlap? Families who have requested free, fully-stocked United Way backpacks can pick them up at the same time and in the same place.

For those of you wondering if our area really needs such supports, let me quote from a recent United Way report based on figures recorded right here in our local area from another of my “entanglements": in 2023, 37 per cent of the boxes of produce distributed through the Kincardine Area Good Food Box went out without cost to those of our neighbours needing food support. In 2024, the figure was 41 per cent. We’re half-way through 2025 and the figure runs currently at 43 per cent. We have neighbour families needing multiple help!



Obviously, none of this help would happen without community support - strands of donations to the United Way for backpacks and the agency’s other good programs; strings of funds to the Good Food Box Neighbour-to-Neighbour Initiative for healthy produce; and strong cords which exist between neighbours willing to pass along clothing that their children have outgrown. This is the fabric of Kincardine and it shines as brightly as the plaid of a kilt!

Any family needing backpacks from the United Way should call 211 with your name, and your child’s upcoming grade level and gender.

To donate clothing, drop it off at Knox Kincardine, Thursday evenings, July 17 to Aug. 7, from 6-8 p.m.; and Saturdays, July 12 to Aug. 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Hope to see you there - and thank you!

Wendy Cox
Kincardine