Inspired by our Founder, the First Sisters of the Holy Family and by so many more of our Sisters and Brothers through the years since our founding, we the Lay Members in Ireland together with some of the Sisters decided to reach out and help some of the most vulnerable in our society.
And who could be more vulnerable than pre-mature babies? The proposal to knit hats and blankets for them (as recommended by Staff at most hospitals) was put to those present at the close of the Annual Lay Members Gathering on September 1st, 2023. It seemed like a great idea and there was enthusiasm and agreement around the initiative.
A sheet of paper was provided requesting names of volunteer knitters. An abundance of colourful wool, needles and knitting patterns was made available. All together there were twenty-two volunteers and a deadline was set for the collection of the finished work. The wool, needles and patterns quickly disappeared and the Group dispersed with not only the need to care for the Earth in mind (for this had been the main theme of the day) but also to care for some of the most vulnerable on the Earth!
Chat around the initiative spilled out over the local community with the result that friends and work mates became involved and the work took off quietly in a variety of venues. Then boxes and bags of completed work began to arrive at the Convent as planned. What an amazing outcome! The final total realised four hundred and sixty-eight hats and two hundred and twenty-eight blankets. What a colourful display and what joy it brought to the Staff at the Coombe and Rotunda hospitals in Dublin, when it was delivered there just before Christmas. In an email from the Coombe the feedback read, “The knitting is beautiful and the presentation is lovely. Many thanks for all the love and work put into them. They are greatly appreciated and will be put to good use.”
Without a doubt this small communal effort to reach out to some of the most vulnerable in our society will surely make a difference. If even one baby is comforted and saved because of our love and concern then all the time and effort to knit those hats and blankets has been worthwhile.
