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PLAYERS JOIN VOLUNTEERS FOR DROP-OFF AT THE ROYAL OLDHAM HOSPITAL Having helped to make thousands of scrubs, wash bags, scrub hats and masks during the Coronavirus pandemic, Rochdale Academy U-12 player Charlie Smith and his mum Kathryn have donated the last of their items - rainbow theatre gowns for children - to The Royal Oldham Hospital. Since April, Charlie and Kathryn, along with an army of volunteers had been making items for keyworkers. Having initially been asked by a friend who works for the NHS to create wash bags, demand grew so much that Kathryn enlisted the help of over 500 volunteers, via the Facebook group 'Your Sewing Machine Needs You'. Kathryn explained: "We were making plain scrubs from fabric that I was buying with the money we raised through our JustGiving Page, then following the publicity we started getting, we got asked to make some scrubs to go to Wales.
Kathryn has thanked the army of volunteers, who she says have made thousands of items. "We've been sewing and knitting, making scrubs, wash bags, scrub hats and masks, and a lot of different knitted items including dolls and hearts that you could send to people who were in hospital or care homes. We've made nearly 1000 sets of scrubs, 2500 wash bags and countless other items." Rochdale AFC's Jake Beesley, Harrison Hopper and Alex Newby, as well as Siobhan McElhinney, Community Trust Assistant Manager, joined Kathryn and Charlie at the Hospital to make the final drop-off.
"Whilst doing that, the group out in Wales got donated fabric by Chris Evans, Radio 2 presenter. During the pandemic, Chris and his son Noah have donated thousands of pounds worth of scrub fabric that they had printed with rainbows on. We were then sent some of that, which we used to make the rainbow scrubs for the Royal Oldham Hospital. They also went to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. After delivering rainbow scrubs to the children’s department at Royal Oldham Hospital in August, they asked us if we would be able to make any theatre gowns for the children, so with some of that fabric we had left, we made the gowns."
AND THEY'RE OFF! LITTLEBOROUGH LADIES CIRCLE BEGIN 8,911 MILE TOUR The first of November saw Littleborough & Areas Ladies Circle set off on their mammoth 2020/21 fundraiser; an 8,911 mile walk, run, bike and hike across Europe in aid of local relationship charity, Talk Listen Change. The ambitious ‘Tour de Ladies Circle’ will visit of all the 22 countries that Ladies Circle is active in Europe, with virtual meet ups with each country along the way. Talk, Listen, Change believe that everyone should be surrounded by a circle of safe, healthy, happy relationships. TLC’s work focuses on supporting people to establish this – by providing domestic abuse services, with a focus on working with perpetrators, counselling and community projects. During the current pandemic and lockdown, instances of domestic abuse and violence are known to have significantly increased, and charities like TLC are experiencing a greater demand for their services alongside a reduction in voluntary funding. The impact of lockdown on domestic abuse services is expected to last at least 3 years.
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Chairwoman Jessica Demain said: "Littleborough & Areas Ladies Circle believe home should be a safe place, and if it isn't, help should be available irrespective of somebody's financial position. Given the local restrictions, we are unable to hold our usual fundraising events this year and have had to get creative. This virtual tour gives the team a way to stay connected, active and raise much needed funds at the same time. Please do wish us luck and donate as generously as you can to support our fantastic charity." To donate and follow our progress visit: www.justgiving.org/fundraising/LLCTLC To contact TLC visit www.talklistenchange.org.uk or call 0161 872 1100 For further information about Littleborough & Areas Ladies Circle follow @Littleblc on facebook or email: littleboroughlc@hotmail.com
