Medway and Maidstone Soroptimists have supported the Shoebox Appeal for the past 20 years. This year we were invited by Blythswood Care to field a team of knitters to take part. Everyone casts on 30 stitches in double knitting wool on size 6 (5mm) needles. On the word go we all knit for 45 minutes with a break for refreshments, then knit for a further 45 minutes when the work is measured. Knitting is then taken home to be finished off into a scarf for the shoeboxes. It is a sponsored event and knitters are either sponsored for the whole length or per inch.
On 4 October at a church hall in Gillingham, our small team was made up of two Soroptimists, Sandra Covington, Jane Barnes and a colleague, Jean. We joined other knitters from local church and voluntary groups. The photo shows Jean and Sandra at the first break with their knitting and Sandra proved to be the quickest knitter in our team. Unfortunately, Jane had to leave early but finished off her scarf that evening. The sponsored knit raised a total of £1049 with a contribution of £195 through our efforts raised with support of club members and family/friends.
These monies will be used to buy additional essential items, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, underwear, hat, scarves, gloves, small toy, and sweets, which may be missing when checking the donated shoeboxes.
For more information on Blythswood Care – https://blythswood.org/shoeboxappeal/