#SVW2021 - Knit a heart for the NHS

Join this Student Volunteering Week event where we knit a heart for the NHS GGC on a friendly, laidback Zoom call. We'll make two matching hearts: one for a patient and one for their family member.

You will have the option to follow along with a tutorial or do your own thing. If you've got previous knitting or crocheting skills, email strathunion.volunteers@strath.ac.uk to sign up as an assistant and help with instructions.

We'll be using this pattern.

You will need:

• Yarn – Any weight of your choice
• 2 Straight knitting needles appropriately sized for your yarn
• (Tapestry) Needle
• Scissors
• Stuffing - fabric scraps, rice, lavender seeds etc.
• Re-sealable plastic bag
• Marker pen
• Small letter envelope
• Stamps

We believe money should never be a barrier to participation in volunteering. If you are in the UK and don't have the materials, we can provide these for you. Please email strathunion.volunteers@strath.ac.uk by 5pm on Monday and we will post what you need out to you. Make sure to include your full name and address in the email.

Please sign up by getting one of the free tickets above. You will receive the Zoom link via email once you've registered for the event.

Here's the full From the Heart appeal:

Doctors and nurses battling to save lives on the frontline are asking people in Greater Glasgow and Clyde to have a heart…..

Our nursing and midwifery staff are continually looking for ways to support those we care for in these challenging times to ensure they remain feeling close to their loved one in our hospitals and care homes.

With services in NHSGGC around 40% busier than during the first wave, we are appealing for local communities to pick up their knitting needles and crotchet hooks again to support our ‘From the Heart’ campaign.

Last April, NHSGGC staff appealed for small, knitted hearts for patients who had died. One was offered to families with the matching one remaining with their deceased family member in the hope it would allow them to feel more connected to their relative who has recently died.

The campaign was well received and we noticed the hearts were also being used for patients in hospitals and residents in care homes and their loved ones not only at end of life but at other challenging times too.

Dr Margaret McGuire, Board Nurse Director, said: “Sadly we are facing another peak in this pandemic and this is one small way in which we can try and ensure that our patients and residents and their loved ones can still feel connected.

“The pandemic has brought many symbols of compassion, such as brightly painted rainbows and the Thursday night applause but there is nothing more symbolic than a heart and we hope that the public feel that by knitting them for our very sick patients and residents and those who have sadly died and their families, they too are playing their part in fighting this terrible pandemic with us.”

Knitters are asked to use clean wool and once they are knitted to deliver the hearts in re-sealable plastic bags with the date clearly written on it. This is so staff can allow 72 hours before the hearts can be used.

Dr McGuire added: “We hope that offering families a small knitted heart will be a small comfort to them during a difficult time and we are asking that knitters across NHSGGC will support us to be able to offer this small but compassionate token from the heart.”

Please send your knitted hearts to: ‘From the Heart’ campaign, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, JB Russell House, Gartnavel Royal site, 1055 Great Western Road, Glasgow, G12 0XH. Please also include your name and email address or postal address if you don’t have one.

#SVW2021 #LoveVolunteering