Ageing with attitude: Getting in a stitch about the Big Knit
While we still need our big wooly hats to keep the chilly weather at bay, there are thousands of tiny versions currently being knitted countrywide to help many older people stay cosy and safe.
If you haven’t heard of the Big Knit, you may have spotted bottles of smoothies in stores and cafes every autumn for the past seven years, wearing all sorts of colourful funky hats and never thought to ask.
Every single one of those hats is unique — knit voluntarily by individuals of all ages across the country — as part of the Big Knit campaign run by Innocent, the makers of the smoothies, in conjunction with Age Action, the national charity for older people.
Now in its eighth year, for every little hatted bottle bought by us, Innocent donates 30c — that’s €140,000 so far — all used to fund Age Action’s care and repair programme, which sees volunteers carry out, free of charge, tens of thousands of small jobs in the homes of older people across Ireland.
For Leo Foran and his wife Frances, who live in Douglas, Cork, volunteers at the service have repaired their shed roof, installed carbon monoxide alarms, repaired the lock on their bathroom door, repaired the doorbell and removed and dumped an old TV.
“It’s great for the likes of us — I’m a man of 83 and my wife Frances who’s 82 is laid up sick,” says Leo.
“I’m not able to do jobs like I used to do in my young days so whenever a little problem comes up we contact Age Action and they’re excellent and they come and do the jobs. And if the job is too big they will nominate someone more skilled to do it, who will be vetted.
“The jobs they do are small jobs but vital for running a home. Only recently the bathroom door jammed and we couldn’t open it from the outside, so low and behold, I phoned them and they came and fixed it up and no problem at all. And you don’t have to pay for the jobs at all — just a small donation.”
Married 58 years, their three daughters and son don’t live locally.
“We are on our own,” says Leo, “so we have been using the service for the past four years and getting those jobs done is great.”
Daragh Matthews of Age Action says: “Many of the small jobs carried out from the care and repair programme are about enabling people to stay safe and warm in the colder months. The Big Knit is the single biggest source of funding for the programme and we would really struggle without the support from Innocent.
“In the first year we set a target of 20,000 hats but this rose over the years, to 65,000 last year and we have an even higher target set this year of 100,000 hats for an increased donation of €30,000.”
That goal is shared by Innocent as well.
Its brand manager, Blathnaid Mc Kenna, says: “We are aiming to put those 100,000 little hats on our smoothie bottles and as every little hat matters , even if someone has only time to knit one or two, we would massively appreciate it.”
Supporters who click those needles include everyone from local ICA branches, schools, individuals in their homes, and knitting circles up and down the country.
There can be lots of fun involved too. Dublin-based Delo McArdle who is part of a knitting group who meet every Wednesday in the Age Action Camden St shop says she has knit so many hats for the Big Knit that she doesn’t need a pattern any more.
“I was in the Age Action shop back when the Big Knit started in 2008,” she says.
“I was asked to help out and I’ve never stopped. I love it and it’s such a great cause.”
Noirin Lanigan, also part of that group, can crochet 10 hats in a couple of hours and has convinced people all over to get involved.
“It’s a great idea. Lots of houses have spare bits of wool and that’s all you need for a little hat,” she says.
Blathnaid says: “We have knitters from all ages who get involved each year, from nursing homes to girl guide groups and some younger knitters like to use the opportunity to knit alongside their grans too, which we think is just lovely.”
The campaign has obviously also gathered its own momentum in getting creative juices flowing — just check out the gallery of amazing little hat creations on the website.
Knowing that each one is unique also contributes towards their charm.
“We can’t ever guarantee that a hat that was knitted in Cork will appear in a shop or cafe there but we like to think that some of the hats make their way back to their home county,” says Blathnaid.
* Check out the hat gallery and what you need to do to submit your own creations at www.thebigknit.ie
* People looking to avail of the Care and Repair service which is open to those over age 55, can contact www.ageaction.ie
Can coffee slow down ageing? http://ti.me/2jrKD50
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