For the Love of Scrubs
From Lacey Green History
click The Virus Action Group for more.
see below for the report of August 2020
For the Love of Scrubs, also known as the Loosley Row & Friends Sewing Group.
From Hallmark June 2020. Sewing with a purpose. reporting Jane Tyrer. (click Chris & Jane Tyrer for more about Jane)
Early on in April having wound down our business, closed our doors to our clients, furloughed the team and recognized that my home-schooling support efforts were not particularly useful, helpful or very gratefully received; I watched the news unfurl before me.
I was struck by the uncomfortable feeling of wanting and needing to be useful. | was almost painfully aware of the contrasts of experience. From an almost idyllic feeling of a delicious never-ending bank holiday to the horrific war-like images being played out just down the road at our care homes, hospitals and even our supermarkets.
It was in the early hours of the morning, my troubled mind not allowing me to sleep, I happened upon a Facebook post on the community group from the Rycote Surgery in Thame - can anyone help – we desperately need scrubs?
Despite having never sewn in my life but with a mother and daughter who had recently rediscovered the sewing machine, | was pretty confident that we could find a few friends and furloughed work colleagues who could take on this challenge.
As | started to look for patterns, fabrics and ideas | happened upon this amazing national movement - 'For the Love of Scrubs'. The movement was started on the 23rd March by a nurse Ashleigh Linsdell after she identified early on in the pandemic, a shortage of scrubs for the NHS and others dealing with frontline services. The movement is now made up of sub-groups up and down the country with 55,000 sewers and over £50,000 raised producing thousands of scrubs, scrub bags and hats to the frontline throughout the whole of the UK. I put a ‘shout out’ to our Loosley Row and Lacey Green Covid Community Whatsapp group. Before | knew it, our wonderful village communities in and around Loosley Row had pulled together.
We formed our very own sub group as part of the For the Love of Scrubs movement, sewing and producing medical scrubs and accessories for our local hospital, carers and GP practices. | launched a ‘just-giving’ account with a modest goal of raising £200 for the materials required to make our first batch of scrubs.
Starting on the 7th April our donations to date have exceeded £1,500. The Loosely Row and Friends Sewing Group has grown each day and now has 60 members who have been busily sewing scrubs, headbands, caps and wash bags for our NHS workers and carers throughout the Chilterns and beyond! These supplement the PPE that staff have to wear and help to make life on the frontline a little more comfortable.
Our packages include a ‘thank you note’ with our special logo designed by talented Loosley Rowers Sally Fisher and Karen Galvin; a beautiful ceramic ‘thank you’ keepsake, made by Vicki from Pot-Tastic in Princes Risborough and cute iced cookies from Alpa, who normally would be busy making wedding cakes.
So far, we have delivered over 600 bags, 600 headbands and over 70 pairs of scrubs. Recipients have included the following :-
Volunteer GP Covid-19 hub, Berkhamsted
Nursing staff at Wycombe General
GP practice, Thame
Maternity unit at the John Radcliffe
Stoke Mandeville hospital
Heritage Care Homes
Fremantle Trust Care Homes - including our local care homes in Princes Risborough
East London Hospital Trust. Wexham Park Hospital Mortuary Department
Mandeville Grange Care
PPE that staff have to wear and help to make life on the frontline a little more comfortable.
We know these make a big difference to the staff and we have some incredibly heartfelt ‘thank you’ messages and photos which spur us on.
Although the production of these important items is what drives us, the most marvellous bi-product is the wonderful group of friends we have made - despite not actually necessarily having met. Our Whatsapp group is full of tips, tricks, jokes, photos, love and pride with an incredibly strong desire to one day have a celebration party to remember this most incredible time.
Our group has expanded beyond Loosley Row and Lacey Green with members in West Wycombe, Chinnor, Risborough, Aylesbury, Woburn Green, Beaconsfield and beyond. We are so grateful for all the tremendous support in the form of donations, fabric, messages, offers of help to deliver and collect and distribute including the printing of patterns by building services consultants - EEP in West Wycombe - an incredibly useful service.
If ever we thought this was just a bit of a vanity project to make us all feel a bit more useful, the messages, we receive from the recipients tell a different tale...
The tremendous work done by the Loosley Row and Friends sewing group is made possible by the tireless cheerful organisation by Kate Collet-Fenson in fund raising, sourcing fabric and patterns, collecting and delivering materials and finished items, managing the huge WhatsApp group and answering pleas from those who need the scrubs and accessories.
Here are an few of the "Thank You's" we have received.
"Hi Kate. We just received the package! Wow!! Thank you so so much, and how amazing that it has all been covered by donations. We are so appreciative. The little thank yous are just so kind! Thank you, all packed and ready to send from head office to our hospitals this afternoon".
"Oh, wow that’s fantastic... I have just arrived home from work… it looks fantastic! I will take them to work on Thursday when I am next in. Thank you I am blown away".
"Kate, I cannot thank you and your team enough, the parcel was beautiful. The scrubs fit like a dream they are making work tomorrow seem so much more appealing. Everything about the parcel has so much love and thought, the bag and the biscuit make it very personal and special. I know many Drs and nurses that are usually non uniform wearing will wear your scrubs with pride. Thank you, thank you, thank you. P.S. the biscuit will be enjoyed at some point tomorrow when tea break happens".
"We have fantastic response from our staff, they all are extremely grateful, and looking forward to wearing the scrubs!".
"Thank you so much to you and your team of scrub sewers. I confess I cried when opened the bag. Not only were there scrubs to fit everyone which was such a relief but so many beautiful extras".
August 2020 from Kate and the Loosley Row & Friends Sewing Group
As the world starts to re-open our busy sewing bees are winding up their projects and we can be hugely proud of our wonderful community achievements.
235 pairs of wonderful scrubs lovingly made and delivered all over the country, received with great joy and worn with pride. 100s of bags, headbands and scrub caps, as well as wonderful knitting for the baby unit at John Radcliffe.
Vicki from Potatstic has made some wonderful mementos for everyone involved.
We have also raised in excess of £500 for Rotarian Covid Charities and this continues to grow as we sell the wonderful face masks that the group have produced. Masks are still being made so please do let us know if you would like any.
Many thanks for your support – it's been a wonderful adventure.