14 COMMUNITY Women get knitting to help the homeless
Beaniehatsdonation
A few dozen stitches in time from crafty Women’s Institute members knitted up a mountain of beanie hats for the homeless.
Auldhouse SWI recently looked out their needles and made more than 40 hats which will be donated to charity.
They also pulled out all the stops to donate items to a food bank.
The group, which is always keen to welcome new members, take part in different charity drives as part of their varied syllabus and previously knitted hats for premature babies.
Secretary Aileen McBride, from Whitehills, told the News:“We have some type of charity focus each year and the WI headquarters previously put out an appeal for rurals to knit hats for the homeless.
“Having donated hats to a maternity unit for premature babies, we had a think about what we could do this year and decided on the beanie hats.
“There is no pressure on anyone to do anything but a lot of the women can knit and all get a great deal from helping those less fortunate than themselves.
“And after a talk from the chairwoman of Clydesdale Food Bank, we also managed to collect a large amount of tinned goods and other items. I think a lot of our members found the talk very moving and a bit of an eye-opener to be honest and we were delighted to gather as much as we did.”
Aileen joined the rural five years ago after retiring and said she has found it a rewarding experience.
“I joined Auldhouse as we meet at the Alistair McCoist Complex, which is near where I live,” she added. “We have about 25 members and just had a couple of ladies join us recently.
“I’ve really enjoyed being part of it and it’s been great trying things I have never done before, perfecting skills I already had and listening to guest speakers on a variety of issues.”