Not all heroes wear capes… some of them knit them.
(As well as mittens, boots, and teddies too!)
In fact, Adrienne and the other members of the Miriam Corban Village Knitting Group, knit a whole range of items. All of them destined for Auckland Starship Hospital’s PICU ward (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit).
Organiser of the Knitting Group’s recent PICU drive, Adrienne, explains why the group is so passionate about knitting for Starship:
“When children are lying in bed sedated, their extremities can grow cold,” Adrienne says. “Starship are grateful for every pair of boots, mittens or blanket we can knit.”
And knit they have, gathering every week around one of the long tables in the Miriam Corban Village Lounge, and tripling their efforts from the previous year.
“This is our second year doing the drive.” Adrienne says: “Last year we knitted about 100 items between us. This year we’ve knitted over 300!”
READ MORE:
That’s a lot of yarn, effort, and time. In fact, the dozen-or-so Knitting Group members have collectively clicked up over 1000 hours of knitting for this year’s drive.
“Of course, some of us knit faster than others,” Adrienne says, as she points to a cluster of residents working furiously at the far end of the table. “Those are our star knitters.”
Only one of the women pauses to look up, and only long enough to give a big smile and say that knitting helps with her arthritis.
Before the items are handed over to Starship, they’re displayed on tables in the village centre, so that other residents can view them.
It’s only then that the true scale of the group’s efforts can be appreciated. Four long tables are covered, end to end, in a colourful array of blankets, teddies, boots and mittens of all different sizes.
Adrienne’s daughter, Vonnie, is the PICU nurse who’s come to collect the knitting. She explains that the children who come to Starship’s PICU ward range in age from premature babies to 15 year-year-old teenagers.
“The families of the children appreciate the knitting so much,” she says. “Quite often they’ve arrived in an emergency, and don’t have anything personal with them.”
She says this drive will last the PICU unit for the entire year, adding that the kids that come to PICU are battlers, real little heroes. “It’s nice to be able to give them something personal that they can take home with them.”
The good work is happening up and down the country. Knitting groups in other Ryman villages donate their time and effort to charities such as Auckland City Mission, the SPCA and Plunket. “There’s always a need for warm garments,” Adrienne says. She encourages any keen knitters to get in touch with their local hospitals and charities.
As well as the amazing work they do for charity, the Miriam Corban Knitting Group is also about residents connecting and supporting each other.
“It’s more than a knitting group, it’s a social group,” Dawn, one of the star knitters, says.
“Before I moved into the village, I thought I’d never make a friend. But now I’ve got more friends here than I’ve got in the rest of my life.”
“It’s for women to meet other women in the village,” agrees Adrienne.
And when they meet, they do it in style. The Miriam Corban Village lounge in the brand new village centre has plenty of room for the group to gather, knit and catchup.
The completed knitting is packed up into boxes and Vonnie leaves with many a ‘thank you’ and another year’s supply of items. Among them are plenty of blankets, which every little hero knows, make for a decent cape, in a pinch.