As spring arrives, the warmth of community spirit has shone through at Royal Primary Care Grangewood.
Julie Cousins, a cherished member of the RPC reception team at Grangewood, has shared how her Dronfield-based crafting charity, Crafting2Gether, provided hundreds of free hand-crafted clothing items for patients to keep warm over the colder months.
RPC Grangewood received hats, scarves, blankets, dolls, and draught excluders from Crafting2Gether, which was founded by Shelagh Cheetham. Julie, who has been part of our team since 2019, is trustee and secretary for the charity and brought the project to the Grangewood surgery to help those struggling with the cost of living.
“We have had amazing feedback,” Julie said, “We made sure that these crafts were smart-looking and something which people would want to wear. Some people even offered money for them, but we insisted that they are absolutely free of charge.”
Julie became involved with Crafting2Gether during the pandemic, when the charity was a small group of women who put in their own time and resources to sew face masks for NHS organisations.
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trust, under which RPC is a division, has been one of Crafting2Gether’s cornerstone beneficiaries, alongside food banks and schools in the Sheffield and Chesterfield area, with the project made possible by a 70-strong army of budding skilled crafters.
Julie aims to expand the scheme to more RPC surgeries, helping even more families across Chesterfield.
“We began this as a trial and quickly realised how much it has been a success. Come autumn 2025, we’ll be really going for it again with delivering projects and we’re hoping to do lots more for RPC going forward,” Julie said.
RPC’s Managing Director, Nate Webber, expressed gratitude for the donations, stating they likely provided a lifeline for many local patients during the freezing winter months.
“Julie is a fantastic member of the RPC team,” he added, “her influence in helping the project come to RPC Grangewood is a timely reminder of the kind of people we’re so lucky to have in our organisation.”
Crafting2Gether, a registered charity since 2021, meets every Tuesday and Thursday at the Peel Centre, Dronfield. More information is available on the Crafting2Gether website.