Columbia State Community College’s John W. Finney Memorial Library has grown their Knit Happens event into an ongoing donation and clothing drive for the Room in the Inn shelter at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Columbia.
“We’re having a great time,” said Anne Scott, Columbia State library director. “It seems like this has been really good for student engagement. The students come by and get a little lesson from us, which gives us a chance to do something hands-on for the community.”
The Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Room in the Inn offers shelter and support to Maury County residents experiencing homelessness.
The Knit Happens event hosted by the Finney Library started in 2021 as a result of an American Library Association Humanities grant and has been steadily gaining traction across the Columbia Campus. Columbia State Student Services has also supported the purchase of many of the looms and yarn with student activity fees, while additional supplies have been purchased with ALA American Rescue Plan grant funds.
Students can access library supplies to knit a hat to donate, a project that takes about 3 hours. In addition, they may donate the knitted items they make to fulfill Tennessee Promise community service hours.
As the activity grew in popularity, Finney Library staff wanted to expand the outreach activity. The Finney Library will now be accepting donations of hats, coats, socks, gloves, scarves, blankets and sleeping bags through the winter months to donate to Room in the Inn. Students can also continue to access the knitting supplies—located in the Maker’s Space on the second floor of the Finney Library—either for donations or for personal use.
“We have supplies and everyone in the library can knit,” Scott said. “The lesson is just about five minutes, so students can come by, and we can show them how to knit at the front desk. There’s also a PowerPoint on the library website for students that choose to check out the looms and knit on their own.”
In the future, the Finney Library hopes to expand this project to other Columbia State campuses to collect knit donations for other local philanthropies. In the meantime, the Finney Library is always accepting yarn donations to continue efforts for Room in the Inn.
The Finney Library will also host a Gift Making Workshop on November 12 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Finney Library staff will demonstrate some of the Maker’s Space offerings such as knitting.
The John W. Finney Memorial Library is located on the Columbia Campus at 1665 Hampshire Pike and is open from Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters. For more information visit www.ColumbiaState.edu/Library.
