December’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Caitlin Imrie to support the matching of lone mittens from across the city.

“Since so many people lose a single mitten or glove,” says Caitlin, “we wondered: if we collected individual mittens from residents and lost-and-founds across Ottawa, could we match them into wearable pairs?”

“Parents know the struggle of mismatched mittens, and mismatched pairs still keep hands warm. So our project tries to keep perfectly usable mittens and gloves out of landfills, and provide free, warm mittens to people who need them.”

Last winter, in the first year of the project, schools from all four school boards, the National Capital Commission, City of Ottawa community centres, shopping centres, and residents across the city donated thousands of mittens. Volunteers washed, sorted, and matched the more than 4,000 single mittens into 1,700 sets. This winter, the project is adding even more partners.

“We hope this project encourages residents to rethink the value of everyday items,” says Caitlin, “and demonstrates how community-driven initiatives can make a real, positive impact.”

To find out where you can drop off lone mittens, or to get involved – the project is always looking for more volunteers for mitten collection, washing, sorting, matching, and more – visit osean.org/blog/lone-mitten-2026.

Caitlin is a retired federal public servant and an active volunteer with the Ottawa South Eco Action Network (OSEAN), which hosts the project together with Eco West Enders.