Pandemic and cold no match for Richland woman’s Little Fence of Hope

The sight of a young child walking in winter without being bundled up sparked a Richland movement.

“A little girl in my son’s class was walking to school in just a shirt and I asked her ‘Honey, don’t you have a jacket?’ ” said Mary Arquette, who created what has morphed into a altruistic enterprise known as the Little Fence of Hope.

Arquette said she fetched the girl a hoodie from their house and later bought her a jacket, but it bothered her that a child would be cold and felt she needed to do more.

She and her family live on the corner of Lee Boulevard and Smith Avenue in Richland. She realized her house was positioned perfectly being a stone’s throw from Richland High, Carmichael Middle and Marcus Whitman Elementary to help students stay warm.

She gathered as many hats and gloves as possible and hung them on the fence outside her home at 1507 Lee Blvd. with signs telling people to take what they needed. Friends and family also gave her coats that she then matched to people through a neighborhood Facebook group.

“Even it was just hats and gloves, it was something to keep them warm and let them know somebody cares about them,” Arquette told the Herald.

But with the onset of the pandemic, the mom of two was at a loss on how she could continue using her fence for good.

“I’m visually impaired and don’t sew — it was frustrating to me that I couldn’t help,” Arquette said.

She lost much of her vision just after she and her husband had celebrated the first birthday of their now 14-year-old.

“I woke up overnight and couldn’t see, it was horrific,” she said.

While doctors never determined precisely the cause was, it was believed to be a virus in her eyes that has left blind spots in her vision. During scans, doctors found an unrelated brain tumor that resulted in a craniotomy four years ago.

She says it was a blessing that it resulted in her being allowed — or forced, she added — to stay home with kids and have the time and capacity to help with projects like distributing masks throughout the pandemic.

Growing donations

With support of donations Arquette gave out 4,500 cloths masks from her fence, as well as 700 sanitizers and even basic toiletries such as toothpaste.

She switched back to hats and scarves in mid-November, and in three weeks she distribute 500 items — compared to 600 items for last year’s entire winter.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect because kids aren’t walking to and from school, and it being slower with no foot traffic,” she said.

But word spread, and donations are regularly dropped off at her doorstep — or large package of brand-new coats mailed to her. She even received an anonymous $300 donation to buy coats for kids and adults.

Arquette says all her spare space is covered with winter gear that she matches to people in need after washing and drying all the used items herself.

“I lived in a workers’ camp when my dad was a farmworker. I want to help kids who are in the same situation,” she said.

Managing her Little Fence of Hope in addition to all the dozen foster animals she has at any given time.

Arquette also volunteers with Little Lives Small Animal Rescue based out of Pasco that helps with all small animals that aren’t dogs or cats — such rabbits, rats, snakes and other reptiles.

But Arquette likes to remind people that the Little Fence of Hope is not an organization as some people have believed when contacting her. “It’s just me.”

She added that for the people who have been demanding, ungrateful or impolite during this endeavor, many contact her to say that without her help they or their children wouldn’t have had a coat for winter.

“Those are the ones who give me gas in the tank.”