June 2024
Wings of Hope
Rosie has had an on-line follow-up meeting with Nataliya Pipa, the MP from Lviv, and her staffer, Khrystyna Shapak, both of whom visited the Scrubbery in March. During their visit, Rosie raised several issues:
finding a safe, trustworthy method of storing and delivering Scrubbery equipment and donations within Ukraine
the possibility of using financial donations from the UK to purchase necessary humanitarian goods locally in Ukraine, helping the local economy and saving shipping and customs processing.
Nataliya and Khrystyna have done a great deal of research since their visit to the Scrubbery to find a reliable, well-established charity that closely matches our aims. They have identified the ‘Wings of Hope’ charity based in the city of Lugansk. This charity was originally founded to support children requiring cancer treatment. Since the beginning of the war, they have redefined their aims:
To provide humanitarian aid for children and civilians,
To provide humanitarian and technical aid to the armed forces
To provide assistance to war veterans including the purchase of special equipment
We will keep you informed as to how this potential collaboration unfolds.
Dress a Girl around the World
We have started a collaboration with this charity and will be helping them to work with us and Ukraine. The UK Ambassador for this charity, Jacqui, worked with us earlier during the pandemic. We will both make garments and Rosie will handle the shipping and contacts in Ukraine. The machine team have been sewing scrubs continuously for 4+ years so might appreciate a bit of ‘light relief’ or a new challenge for a short period of time. This is in part because we have several rolls of fabric eg. pink decorated with sweets and yellow with ice creams that are best suited for girl’s dresses. We are not stopping the production of scrubs, just using up some material that is not suitable for scrubs. As we know, Rosie never throws anything away!
Rosie has prepared a pattern for an A line dress for ages 7 and the kits are now being sewn by the machine team. It takes a great deal of time to get a new design into production and I thought it might be interesting to review the preparatory work done by Rosie and her team. We take a great deal of care and attention in our production of patterns for sewing at home to make it as stress free as possible.
Selection of design according to available cloth and age of child
Draft the pattern on paper
Cut out a couple of prototypes for stitching by volunteers
Write instructions
Give written instructions and the cut out samples for machinists for them to sew and to test the pattern and instructions
To and fro between Rosie and machinists to iron out wrinkles and refine the instructions for general use
Rosie draws diagrams for each stage of assembly
Proofing of the final instructions
Transfer pattern onto pattern cards ready for production
Work out the length of the lay and lay up fabric to this length
Chalk on pattern pieces
Cut the pieces out
Bundle into kits with any required trimmings
Source suitable coloured thread
From beginning to finish it takes about a month.
Dress samples in Ukraine colours
Now for a couple more in the ongoing sequence of mini biographies of various volunteers.
Josie Simpson
It is now 3 years since I joined the Scrubbery. At that time we were working in the empty squash court in the Bank of England grounds. When I saw the sign for the Scrubbery there was a queue of women waiting outside. I assumed that, like me, it was their first day. Later I discovered that they were outworkers, returning and collecting their scrubs, and as the weather was good they were able to wait outside. Rosie was still having to observe strict pandemic rules. She took me to the enormous squash court where I was able to work at a distance from the other volunteers, so thankfully I could remove my mask.
The volunteers were too far away from each other to hold conversations, especially with the noise of the sewing machines, but somehow we got to know each other. The pandemic was the reason Rosie started up the Scrubbery. The severe shortage of PPE in our Hospitals and the lengths the staff had to go to to protect themselves and the patients was alarming.
The pandemic was also the reason I volunteered. My son was working from home and the only suitable place for him to set up his laptop was at the kitchen table. I got tired of creeping around the house and asking permission to make a cup of tea, so I was happy to volunteer for a day a week at the Scrubbery. I have done a variety of jobs, sewing wellbeing bags, ironing surgical hats, folding scrubs in readiness for the outworkers, unpicking sheets and curtains etc. It is so satisfying to see fabric that would have been thrown away recycled into much-needed items.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, most of the PPE has been sent out to their Field Hospitals. However this was just the beginning as now also make camouflage nets, I spend most of my time on these. Rosie has expanded the support for Ukraine to cover First Aid kits, crutches, clothes, toys and baby equipment. She has even managed to get a new van donated, which she drove to the Ukraine herself.
I haven’t even touched on the support the volunteers give to The Oasis School where we are now based. The role of our charity has expanded hugely in the time that I have been volunteering, and this is solely down to Rosie’s “can do” attitude. I am very glad that I have been able to make a contribution to such a successful venture.
Charl
I’m Charl, and I run a soft furnishing workroom, The Curtain Tailor, in the area. I grew up in South Africa and come from a hospitality background having worked in hotels for many years, but turned a hobby (curtain making) into my full-time job about 7 years ago.
I became aware of The Scrubbery during the first lock down when Rosie posted on a local Facebook group that she was looking for some overlocking thread. I had a few reels spare that I didn’t use and decided to donate it to a good cause. Walking down to St Mary’s Church on Putney Bridge to deliver it to the Scrub Hub was my first introduction to Rosie and the work she does. We had a conversation about her challenges sourcing fabrics and threads at the time and I tried to assist through my contacts in the industry. While I am not a member of The Scrubbery as such, I try to assist where I can with sourcing other items that she needs.
I sourced end of line fabrics from a supplier that was suitable for scrubs, sewing thread, labels and some other items that Rosie required. Rosie also regularly looks through my remnants and roll ends to see what is suitable to use for making wellbeing bags, camouflage netting and more recently for the sewing group she runs at the school.
The Scrubbery is a great way for me to make a small contribution to a worthwhile cause and I am always amazed at how diverse what Rosie and her team does these days. It is incredible to see how the whole operation has expanded from making scrubs to all the other involvement in assisting with healthcare items for Ukraine and arranging shipping of items. It is always good to hear from Rosie what she is working on at the moment as it is always different!
A Great Big Thank You
First of all to Jos, who raised £1,118 for the Scrubbery selling paintings through her company, Merivale Prints. This incredibly generous donation is very gratefully received and will help the Scrubbery a great deal.
The SING SWELL Choir and SING SWELL Kids Choir provided a fantastic evening of music and fun at our parish church, St. Mary’s, Putney. The singing was wonderful and the repertoire ranged from Bruckner to Dua Lipa—something for everyone! It was a hugely enjoyable community evening which raised money for charity, including an amazing £1,000 for The Scrubbery.
An enormous heartfelt thank you to Berni, without his willingness to embrace what we were doing we might not be the success we are today. He has been a stalwart supporter and always been ready to help in any way he can. Berni is moving out of London but we hope to keep in touch. Many, many thanks for all his help and encouragement.
Call-outs
Please could anyone, with any available free time, come and help to complete the current camouflage net. There is also an urgent need for sunblock, suncream, antihistamines, sunburn gels and mosquito repellent. If anyone feels they would like to donate, please bring the items to the Scrubbery.