Commissioners said the Arts Commission recently wrapped up participation in the Warm Up America project, collecting hand-made rectangles to be turned into blankets for distribution to veterans, hospices, people experiencing homelessness and children entering foster care. "We were handing out kits that contained 3 small balls of yarn, a crochet hook, and a flyer that was the size of the rectangle we wanted to collect," the chair said when describing how the drive was organized.

The chair said collections have been strong — "Brooke was saying that the last time she had was just over a thousand" — and that the commission will assemble rectangles onto a large Christmas-tree display at the Glow with Stow event on Dec. 6. Packages were reported from outside the region and the commission plans a volunteer session to stitch panels together; the assembled display will remain until the seasonal lights are removed, and then the group will send rectangles to Warm Up America for final assembly and distribution.

Commissioners said media outlets have requested interviews about the project, including a request from Spectrum News; staff noted volunteers' limited availability for media. Volunteers and community members were invited to drop off donated rectangles at City Hall.