Pupils’ rugs for residents are a knit hit

A WELL-being initiative at Bandon Grammar School saw students, parents and even grandparents knit their way through Covid to produce 30 multi-coloured rugs which were donated to three local nursing homes.

Spearheaded by the school’s chaplain Rev Anne Skuse and staff members, the project ended up taking on a life of its own as more and more people within the community offered to knit.

Rev Skuse said that at the start of the last lockdown in January they were looking at starting a well-being initiative to keep people going.

‘We had the idea of getting each student to knit a six inch square but what happened was that their parents and especially their grandparents really took it on board and it was also opened to wider community and friends outside the school,’ said Rev Skuse.

‘We ended up getting around 1,500 squares back in every colour and stitch,  which allowed us to make 30 blankets which we presented to Bandon Community Hospital, Clonakilty Community Hospital and St Luke’s Home in Cork city last week.’

Mary Nolan from Clonakilty Hospital receiving some of the rugs from school chaplain Anne Skuse. (Photo: Denis Boyle)

Rev Skuse said she received lots of feedback from grandparents who said they loved being involved in the project which many said  helped them during the dark days of Covid back in January and February.

‘We wanted to highlight that it was the young and the old who are really mostly affected by the pandemic and it sort of linked those two together.’

The representatives from the three hospitals were needless to say delighted with the presentation of these very colourful knitted rugs.

‘Each one of them said how great it was that we were thinking of them and especially as those in residential care were the most isolated during lockdown. They also encouraged us to keep up the link and we will follow that up definitely.’ On behalf of Bandon Grammar School, Rev Skuse thanked everyone who got on board and knitted for this project.

‘It really was a huge community effort and way beyond the school and was like an outreach as people were coming from everywhere to contribute, with some knitting one stitch while others knitted several stitches,’ added Rev Skuse.