Threading the needle for Australia’s frontline workers

WHEN Deborah Elliott returned to her Anglesea home from New Zealand last month, she was forced to self-isolate.

On day four, Ms Elliott said she began to feel sorry for herself until she received a phone call from her former colleague and friend of 20 years, Kerry Kirk.

Ms Kirk had a most inspired idea, but she needed as many experienced hands as she could find to see it take flight.

“She said ‘I’ve got a favour to ask’, and I went ‘Yeah, what?’ and she went ‘Well, a friend from the Rotary Club in Sunbury is a nurse unit manager at Royal Melbourne (Hospital) and she wants some caps made’ and I said ‘oh, okay’. She replied ‘I’m going to hang up and I’ll ring you back in an hour and you tell me how many you think you can make’.

“She called back and I said I could probably get five people to make 500 and she said ‘They need 1,000’. That’s how it started.”

From there, “Helping Our Hospital Heroes Australia” was formed.

The retired IT specialist and printmaker said the volunteer group has sewn and delivered 1,000 hats to Royal Melbourne Hospital and a further 1,000 to Box Hill Hospital in less than three weeks.

Ms Elliott said University Hospital Geelong was in line to receive their hats this week.

“We started a Facebook page and we’ve now got 1,400 members and we’ve got demand for over 10,000 hats. So far we’ve delivered nearly 3,000,” she said.

“We also just supplied 650 caps in conjunction with another group to Royal Perth Hospital.”

Ms Elliott said people of all ages from across Australia were getting on board with the initiative, and that textiles businesses (including Amitie Textiles in Torquay) and individuals had been donating materials to the cause.

“People are donating their materials and their time. Lots of people have gone through their fabric stashes and dropped it off here, as well as thread.”

Ms Elliott said co-ordinating the group had been a rewarding experience, particularly in a time when uncertainty is clouding people’s abilities to find joy and give back.

“What do you say? It’s overwhelming, it’s heart-warming. I certainly shed a few tears when we got sent the first pictures through from Royal Melbourne of hospital staff wearing the hats, and it all happened within 10 days.

“All our volunteers say to me, ‘It makes me feel engaged and it makes me feel like I’m contributing’. People are connecting and communicating through all of this.

“People who I’ve never met ring me up like they know me. It’s just a joy.”

To find out more about the group or to get involved, search “Helping Our Hospital Heroes Australia” on Facebook.