When need meets passion, something special can happen.
Last Friday, 5 July, a group of Ashford Central School students presented 317 handmade items to the Inverell Sewing for Charity group to aid in the mission of supporting people in need.
These included chemotherapy port pillows, scent hearts for babies in neonatal units and NICUs, fiddle mitts for seniors with dementia, mastectomy pillows, seatbelts for premature babies, library bags for new mums’ reading programs, and nearly 40 stuffed teddies, rabbit, and dinosaurs.
There are 12 students currently involved in the group, meeting fortnightly to work on projects.
“The kids are really keen,” Ashford School project coordinator and teacher Leza Luckett said.
“Sometimes they’ll see me at the end of the day, and they’ll say, “Is sewing on today?’ and I’ll say, “Yep, it is on today,” and they’ll say, ‘Yay! I’ll be back!’”
The items will be distributed across the Hunter New England oncology units, Ronald McDonald House, Inverell Library, and local support groups.
The relationship between Inverell Sewing for Charity group and Ashford students began in 2023, when the Inverell group launched their annual Transformation Challenge. They invited all district schools to upcycle fabrics and other textiles into something special in recognition of National Recycling Week. Ashford School was the only school to put their hand up, and they’ve stayed connected.
The relationship has evolved with the creation of the school charity sewing group under the banner of Inverell.
Inverell Sewing Group member Jennifer Blackey has been the Ashford liaison between the two groups this year, spending hours cutting patterns and readying the projects for the kids to sew, stuff, and complete.
She explained some of the items were deeply personal, creating bonds and providing comfort, such as the scent hearts, used by new mums in neonatal units to connect with premature babies.
“She’ll put one in her bra while she’s there, and if she leaves the hospital, that goes in the crib with the baby, so it’s a bonding thing,” Jenny said.
“And there’s Inverell Library, have a books for bubs program, and they go with the new mums.”
Both boys and girls are involved in the sewing group.
“I started doing it because I wanted to get out of the house, and I sort of enjoyed sewing a bit, and I thought it would be cool to help,” Ashford student Sarah Strohfeldt said.
She felt the work was relevant and said the people they were helping had similar stories to people in her own family.
The outcomes stretch beyond helping others. Jenny outlined skills in problem solving, learning to make positive choices, developing the concepts of their impact on helping others and how their time and creations assist people.
Inverell group member Faye Dunshea came up to Ashford on 5 July with member Diane Dewberry to receive the school group donation. She said the projects they work on are determined by need, with fabrics selected by Inverell member Lorraine Brown.
“Lorraine gets the requests for what different things that they need, whether it be from the oncology unit, from the library, from the schools, or whatever,” Faye said.
“Then Jenny comes in and we give her a big bundle of stuff to take home.”
She said nothing goes to waste, and they use every scrap donated to invest into a useful item. Their outreach extends beyond the district, reaching out to Moree and Newcastle.
“So, it’s making community connections all around – Inverell, Tingha, Ashford, everywhere,” Diane said.
Ashford principal Alex Wrobel praised the school sewing group for their contribution and initiative.
“I think our school community – we’ve got a lot of families that are disadvantaged, and may not have a lot. But there’re still ways that are not financial-based, that it’s really lovely that our kids can give back to the community,’ he said.
“And the sense of pride that the group of students have is unbelievable.”
Top image: L-R Cobi-Lee Short, Sarah Strohfeldt, Esther Wright, Dridan Stanley, Jenny
Blackey, Diane Dewberry, Faye Dunshea, and Tiarna Beveridge with the items donated by
the Ashford Central School Sewing for Charity Group. (Photo: Michèle Jedlicka)
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