At the height of the Coronavirus pandemic in early April 2020, the churches set up a group to sew scrubs for medics and carers.  Eleven volunteer dressmakers joined, and our first assignment was making over 60 scrub bags from old sheets and pillowcases for St Clare Hospice. We then made contact with Addenbrooke’s Hospital; the hub expanded to 18, and in early May we sent our first batch of 14 sets of scrubs and 14 scrub bags with the aim of completing around 40 sets in total.  However, very generous donations to cover the cost of the fabric poured in, enabling us to make many more than the original target, so an appeal for more sewers, not just from the churches, went out.

By the end of May the hub had made 145 sets of scrubs and over 90 scrub bags – an amazing achievement. There were 28 sewers over that time; some came at the beginning and then moved on to other things, some joined towards the end, many were shielding and happy to have something to occupy the long days, and some were juggling sewing with studying, working or home schooling. They all deserve a very big ‘thank you’, along with our couriers who distributed and collected sets to those sewers who were shielding and took them to Addenbrookes.