Woollies for the World
2041. Pam Davey
Pam Davey, aged 63, from Rhyl, started knitting 40 years ago to ease the heartbreak of her stillborn son Joshua, and now has created a global community of over 2,000 knitters who are making clothes and blankets for charity.
Pam founded ‘Woollies for the World’, to create a space for people to knit items to donate to charitable causes. This started through Pam’s desire to clothe her angel baby, but she found nothing was available and so started the initiative, which led to other people wanting to join her Facebook Group. The group soon started branching out into knitting other items such as blankets for the homeless and clothes for slightly older babies. 100,000 items of clothing were donated in the first 12 months from its inception in 2014.
As more members joined, and a wider range of items were accepted, the donations included clothing sent to hospitals in the UK for premature and stillborn babies, blankets, hats and scarves for homeless people, deprived families, and also twiddlemuffs for older people with dementia, and younger people with autism. In addition, they sell wool, buttons and other items to raise funds for the group. ‘Woollies for the World’ has also donated items to international charities supporting children in need.’
In a personal letter to Pam, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“Thanks to your initiative ‘Woollies for the World’, an incredible 100,000 items of clothing have been created and donated by your dedicated community of knitters.
It is a wonderful tribute to the memory of your son, Joshua, that you are now bringing comfort to families in their most difficult moments and helping children across the world without access to new clothes.”
Pam said:
“I had missed the email but when I got the award through the post I was amazed! Although I run the group I wouldn’t be able to continue it without the support of all the members and my husband who does the charity paperwork and secretarial duties.”
See more about ‘Woollies for the World’