Keep calm and carry yarn

Nothing inspires a knitter like a child in need. At Warrnambool Riverside Care Community in Victoria, our knitting group is on a mission to make sure no child goes without a warm woolly blanket, hand knitted with love. 

Our resident knitters are making sure their skills, honed over a lifetime of knit 1 pearl 1, continue to be put to good use - warming the hands and hearts of babies in their local area.

When they heard about local organisation, Loved and Shared, they got to work. Loved and Shared works with communities in the region to gift and re-home high quality donated nursery and children’s goods, so that local families have access to essential resources needed to raise thriving children.

Contributing to community

"We’re all happy to do something to help families in need and we all love doing it, “ says Pamela, knitter and resident at Warrnambool Riverside Care Community.

“Everyone gets together for a chat and we all have a purpose. We each knit squares and then our volunteer Renae, stitches the blankets together for us. When we have enough we get in our Care Community bus and go and deliver them to Loved and Shared all together."

Supporting families in need

Tyson Jakitsch, Executive Officer at Loved and Shared values the contributions of our residents, especially as their knitted blankets are unique, brand new, high quality items for children.

“At Loved and Shared we sincerely believe it takes a village to raise a child,” says Tyson.

“These beautifully handmade blankets will be proudly used in our gift packs to assist our community. We thank Warrnambool Riverside Care Community for being an early supporter of our not for profit organisation as we work to create meaningful change for families in our community facing challenges.”

Promoting active ageing

On one of our knitters visits to deliver a set of blankets to Loved and Shared, they enjoyed a tour of the small business, learning about how it aims for ‘zero waste’ by re-homing pre-loved items of clothing.

Residents were so enthused by what they saw, they’ve agreed to volunteer their time once a month to help with sorting blankets, clothes and other items on site.

Preserving traditional skills

Supporting our residents to use their skills to support the local community gives them a sense of purpose, but also enables others to benefit from and appreciate skills that have been passed down through generations.  

For our residents at Warrnambool Riverside, Loved and Shared’s philosophy that it takes a village to raise a child, is second nature to them, especially having lived in and served the region for many decades. Their continuing contribution strengthens the social fabric of the local community. To learn more about how our Care Communities provide valuable social impact to society, read our Social Impact Report.