Wanted: fabric donations and sewing volunteers for community project!

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We've been contacted to spread the word about a wonderful intergenerational project by our local council, the City of Unley, involving students of Unley Primary School and people living with dementia.

 What you can donate:

  • Fabrics lingering in your stash that are plain or have a small print, are at least 50 x 50cm and strong enough to make into durable, reusable shopping bags.
  • Your time and sewing machine to sew Boomerang Bags at a community sewing bee on Friday 23rd March 2018 at the Clarence Park Community Centre (lunch provided).

Image from boomerangbags.org

 What's the project?
The Forget Me Not Program is a collaboration between aged care provider ECH, Unley Primary School and the University of South Australia. Over eight weeks, 90 grade four/five students at Unley Primary School will learn about ageing and dementia. This will include five excursions to spend time amongst people living with dementia and their carers. They'll work together on arts activities, printing, painting and dyeing the donated fabrics, that will be sewn into 'Boomerang Bags' (reusable shopping bags). The kids will also be learning about sustainability, reuse and mending things, and how this was commonplace yesteryear. From this point of view, they would like to minimise purchasing new textiles, hence the call for donations.

Forget Me Not is being funded by the Office of the Ageing through an Age Friendly grant. The University will evaluate the initiative, with the aim to develop Forget Me Not into a sustainable program available state-wide, deliverable by educators within schools.

If you have fabrics to donate, and/or can help at the Boomerang Bag sewing bee on Friday March 23, please contact Alyssa Hill, Active Ageing Project Officer at the City of Unley on 8372 5472 or ahill@unley.sa.gov.au 

You can find more information about Boomerang Bags here.


- Jane & Fiona xx

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