Siblings Together is one of those charities that could easily go unnoticed. Unnoticed by us, but not by the brothers and sisters they work with.
Siblings Together promotes positive contact between brothers and sisters separated by care, kinship care and adoption. The trauma of separation from siblings and its lifelong effects are often overlooked. We aim to help young people in care initiate and continue to have contact with their siblings, helping them to develop strong family bonds and above all achieve an independent and positive place in society supported by their sibling relationships.
Around 80% of looked-after children with brothers or sisters in care had been separated from them. The issue, and the long term impacts are huge.
Sometimes when an important issue come to light, or one hears about a cause that needs supporting, trying to work out how best to respond can be difficult. I am a strong believer that often, the best response are creative ones. Ones that see beyond the expected, sending pictures, stories, handmade gifts, meals, dresses. Quilts.
So, I am pretty aware of all the things Mary gets up to, and over the years have even learnt about various fabric lines and designers. I think I know that something called Quilt Market is happening soon! Oh and there is that sewing thing in June…
I digress, Lynne at Lily’s Quilts has gathered the interest of a corner of the sewing and quilting community, as their beautiful response to siblings that have been separated through the care process.
Mary is organising the making of at least four quilts (when I am not sure, but she tells me it is possible!) and has already been supported by way of fabric for quilt tops – around £100 worth, as well as a haul of fabric from her personal stash and as I typed this earlier, she was busy sketching out designs on graph paper, but I think she has made a few blocks already.
Celtic Fusion Fabrics have donated this bundle of fabric for a boys quilt:
Mary has pulled this precious bundle from her stash:
And from our own funds this arrived last week:
Which should make 2 quilt tops (time permitting!)
And this is on it’s way:
From a lovely lady who is donating fabric from her personal stash to anyone who wants to make a quilt for this project.
BUT, to get the quilts finished, we need to spend approx £250 on backing fabric, wadding, thread, and then postage costs to get the finished quilts delivered, and my contribution to this project is to try and get that money raised!
So, I have set up a crowdfunding project, as an easy, safe and transparent way to donate to the project.
If you like the idea, but could never sew yourself, don’t have the time, then this is your opportunity to get involved. Just as this corner of the quilting community is thinking creatively about how to respond to this issue, I challenge you to also think creatively. Maybe you could donate what you would normally spend at Starbucks in any given week, or a meal out… I don’t really mind how you find the money*, but I look forward to seeing progress made towards our target.
Mary will keep you posted on progress on her blog and I will post updates to the Indiegogo campaign page, and (deep breath) the plan is to get at least four quilts made and delivered by early July.
*OK, nothing illegal please!