​​​​ROCHESTER, N.Y. — ​What started out as a hobby, has turned into a helping hand for Kimberly Rouleau, founder of ROC Made With Love.

“Crafting is very therapeutic for people,” she said. “And I think to be able to sit down at night and craft and watch TV or sit down and listen to an audiobook and podcast is very soothing. I thought to myself, ‘well, I can crochet, but I've already made a lot of stuff for friends and family. So how can I use crochet for good?’ And I thought of my friend Sandy who would make blankets for various organizations. I ended up on Warm Up America's website and saw they had these made with love events where basically people go out in the community and they install things like public art installations, hats, scarves and gloves for people to take.”

It inspired her and other local crafters to create ROC Made With Love. They make winter accessories for those in need. Rouleau gained inspiration behind her organization after the loss of her best friend Sandy during COVID.

“So, it's not like there was a funeral or I could say goodbye,” she said. “So this is something I could do. She was such an influence on me and just the thought that we can…that I can honor her legacy by doing this is very cool to me. She was a librarian and I was a librarian. So libraries are really close to my heart. So that's where I wanted to start because I know that libraries reach out in the community and do so many things more than books and movies, but they help people, too.”

Rouleau brings her work to the Monroe Branch Public Library with the help of several volunteers.

“Kim's a sweetheart, and it was really overwhelming to me to know that she was doing this and how much support she got from the community and from people that are I mean, they're putting their time, effort, their hands, you know, into something that's just beautiful,” Eric Radulski, one of those volunteers, said.

As volunteers spread warmth through their generosity spreading warmth through the coldest months of the year.

“The community gives so much to us,” Radulski said. “Plus, it's home, you know, and anything we can do to make it feel more like home, even to people that we don't know. It adds to the flavor of the community.”

Crafters from near and far help Rouleau with her Yarn Bombing event.

“They were made by crafters, not only in the Rochester community, but throughout the nation,” Rouleau explained. “We partnered up with Warm Up America and they've sent us items to hang today. We've also partnered up with us Sew Green Rochester crafting for good and our friends at the local libraries have been drop off points for us.”

Rouleau hopes the small acts of kindness Sandy once taught her will carry on throughout the community as they continue to warm up the hearts and bodies of those in need. “We all have the ability to make someone else's life better for a little bit, even if it's just giving someone else a smile,” she said.