ISHPEMING -- Piles of mittens wait at the Salvation Army in Ishpeming, part of the Christmas presents distributed for around 300 families this week.

Among them are mittens knitted by Ernie LaJoie, a Negaunee man who knits and donates them to the charity organization.

This year he's "Paying it Forward" after members of Eastwood Nursing Home in Negaunee gave him 50 scanes of yarn last week.

Ernie donated the mittens to Bethany Lutheran Church, which in turn gave them to to the Salvation Army.

"He's well supplied," said church member,  Betty Hemmila.  "He can knit from now to whenever.  It's a neat project and it's so nice to know that someone is benefitting from the mittens."

Ernie donated mittens this year that he's been working on all year.  He'll use the yarn he got from Eastwood to make more for next year.

It's something the Salvation Army says they always need.

"There will be no children with cold hands that live here," said Salvation Army coordinator, Liz Nevala.  "Even the parents.  We even give them to the parents.  Whoever comes and applies gets a set of mittens."

The mittens go to the Salvation Army, which, as we all know, "Pays it Forward" in the community all year long.