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Before getting too far, can I just say, who doesn’t love a bit of wordplay?
The Repair Café Kenilworth (ReCK) has been months in planning. There have been numerous meetings with volunteers, organisers, and coordinators, searching out venues, organising who’s doing what, liaising with the original Repair Café … thankfully, the team have picked up their roles and just got on with it all.
We were all set for the big day (18th April), and then along comes Mr CoronaVirus to stop play. It’s a minor setback, but at least it gives us the chance to iron out any wrinkles before ‘the next big day’. (Whenever that may be).
With that said, there’s only so many Zoom meetings, telephone calls, and emails that I can send before I’m ready to get back to practical things. Our toaster needs repairing, but I fear that I may cause more damage than repair, I’ve tackled the stuffing on an armchair or two, and yet I’m still fidgeting. Or at least, WAS still fidgeting.
Warwickshire Scrubbers
Hello Warwickshire Scrubbers.
Thanks to COVID-19, there’s a national shortage of PPE equipment, including scrubs, caps, and scrub bags for the wonderful NHS staff, fighting this pandemic on the frontline. This isn’t political; there’s simply no way of balancing supply and demand right now, at least through the regular channels, and it falls to groups such as the Warwickshire Scrubbers to help ease that supply bottleneck.
As you may have figured, they’re a sewing group based in Warwickshire, that are creating mainly scrubs, bags, and caps for local hospitals. In one local collection alone, they managed to gather 300 bags, 76 headbands, 24 scrubs, and four tops. In fact, the Kenilworth group now delivers so many items, that they’ve had to task a volunteer with the role of Logistics Manager!
That sort of output is impressive, even more so when you consider that the Facebook group was only created on the 4th April; there are now over 60 volunteers from Kenilworth alone, and I’m proud to say that I’m one of them, as are a number of the ReCK volunteers. #warwickshirescrubbers
If you feel that you too could help, there’s a Warwickshire Scrubbers Facebook group, or if sewing isn’t your thing but you’d like to help in other ways, there’s a fundraising site to help them help the NHS: Warwickshire Scrubbers Fundraising page.
After COVID-19
Of course, none of us really know what’s going to happen, we’re living in unprecedented times, but one thing is for sure; it’s at times like these when communities come together, build a better society, and look after one another.
Sure, it would be great not to be in the middle of a worldwide crisis right now, but it’s how we come together that shows just how resilient, kind and remarkable the human race can be.
Stay safe!
Sharon