Knitters unite in a good cause
By Jayne Warren - 26/01/2007
Knitters unite - it's time to pick up your number 10s and unite for those at sea: yes, it's Woolly Hat Week, February 4th-10th 2007.
Whether you wear a woolly hat to work for a week, sponsor your partner or work colleague to sport a hat or mittens, it's all for a good cause... supporting the world's seafarers, like these stout fellows.
Organised by the British & International Sailors’ Society (BISS), knitters and non-knitters alike are urged to raise funds for the thousands of men and women at sea who need warm clothing, as well as items for parcels to open on special occasions.
Remember that 95% of the world’s trade is moved by sea, and many seafarers are away from their homes and families for months on end, often feeling lonely and isolated. Hundreds arrive on our shores from the warmer countries of Indonesia, India and the Philippines, ill-prepared for the cold and chilly climate, so the woolly hats and mittens offered to them by the BISS Port Chaplains around the country are gratefully received.
Incredibly, some 10,000 hats are given out each year, 6,000 of which are in Christmas parcels, so that the seafarers have something 'home-made' to open on Christmas Day. BISS cannot make the sea less dangerous but it can 'bridge the gap between ship and shore'.
For the non-knitters out there
BISS have offered some hints as to how you can raise funds if you don't knit:
Encourage your friends and work colleagues to wear woolly hats and ask them to pay £1 for the privilege. BISS can supply branded button badges so that you know who has paid their £1.
Sponsor the boss to wear his woolly hat in an important meeting.
Have a competition for the silliest, best decorated or most colourful hat.
Have an inter-departmental competition with prizes for the winners. Pay £1 to enter the competition.
Ask other departments to take part or sponsor you for doing so.
Think of fundraising ideas and then feed them back to BISS, so that they can share them with others.
If your company is taking part, let BISS know, we will add you to a special page of participants.
For intrepid knitters ...
In addition, BISS suggests:
Knit fingerless mittens as well
Encourage your friends to knit
If you are a member of a craft or knitting group ask them to help too
You could set up a sponsored knit-a-thon, where you get sponsorship for the number of hours spent knitting or the number of hats knitted
Start a knitting group in your area
You can also contact Mrs Rebecca Young on 02380 515958, or e-mail at fundraising@biss.org.uk
All finished items should be sent to: Mrs Jan Webber, Head of Fundraising, British & International Sailors’ Society, 350 Shirley Road, Southampton, SO15 3HY.
For full information visit the website link below.