Sew Positive (UK Charity)

It is #trusteesweek This is a time to celebrate the dedication, support and commitment of trustees everywhere. They are also volunteers and in the case of Sew Positive, many combine working lives and caring with helping us run our charity. As CEO at Sew Positive, my role is made so much easier and enjoyable due to their support and healthy challenge. Here’s a pic from our strategy day with Flóra Raffai. Sarah, Jane Webber Alex, Alison Heron Judi Coe Karin Read and Joseph Barker-Sherry - Thank you for all you do ❤️ If you want to find out more about our Trustees, please follow the link in our bio.

For us small charity folks, collaborating with businesses is vital for the sector, funding, improving communities and wider societal connections. But it’s also great fun! Today we were at Grand Arcade for the #LetsGoCircular (Award Winning 🏆 ) festival, for our third year. Thank you for being great hosts and saying such great things too! We created a shop in a day with mindful stitching for people aged between 3-83 today. The event attracted people making badges from upcycled fabrics, trying Sashiko stitching to repurpose a tote bag (which now looks INCREDIBLE!) and making flower brooches. We heard stories of how sewing was positive for young people, and despite being in a busy shopping centre, it was a calm, relaxed and creative atmosphere ☺️ Our work with businesses has ramped up this year as funding has decreased while need for services has increased. Businesses are key to closing this gap. We can deliver workshops; slow stitching or textile waste busting lunch hour activities to businesses, giving employees time out to be creative and relax, while supporting a grass roots local charity. Fancy volunteering? It’s not just about sewing - it’s about helping at events like this, supporting and encouraging participants….if you have Mental Health First Aid training, or are interested in having some, get in touch. Volunteering helps our own mental health and we hope you might join our hive soon 🐝♻️👖🧵♻️🐝

What a Friday treat to discover that Sew Positive (UK Charity) is leading on all the social media graphics for the Award Winning #LetsGoCircular events at Grand Arcade coming up! In addition to our event on Monday 28 October (10am-2pm)offering a chance to make your own upcycled fabric badges, Sashiko denim patches and flower brooches, there are lots of inspiring events to take part in around #circulareconomy. With a fun-filled, educational calendar of events in place for all ages, be sure to register today for your tickets and don't miss out. The full programme can be found here https://lnkd.in/e_FvtMsb #CircularEconomy #CircularEvents #CambridgeEvents #WhatsOnCambridge #SchoolHolidayActivity Julie Kervadec Martin Macwhinnie Charlie Hudson Elle Roberts-Nissen

Today is World Mental Health Day. One of our trustees, Alex Collis, wrote these words on her own post and we thought they’d be perfect for what we are trying to do with Sew Positive. Photo of cyanotype printing by a participant at our #socialprescribing course. 💚 This was a difficult day. I might be smiling on the outside, but inside, my mental health was really taking a battering. 💚 Always be kind, because you never know what people are going through, or what they’re masking with that smile. 💚 Two years later, things are better. I’ve invested lots of time and effort into making my home a nice place to be, and I’ve taken up stitching - both of which have had a really positive effect on my mental health. But it’s a constant process… 💚 I guess what I’m really trying to say, on this World Mental Health Day, is this - be kind, listen, be gentle with yourself and talk to someone if you can. Someone you trust. #worldmentalhealthday #worldmentalhealthday2024 #wmhd #wmhd2024 #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthisimportant #mentalhealthjourney #mentalhealthisreal #mentalhealthtips #mentalhealthcommunity #wearitgreen

What a great kick off to the Sew Positive (UK Charity) course at Ross Street Community Centre today. Working with creative tutor Peggy Mends and our volunteers, 17 participants worked with paint on calico using blocks and found objects to start our course engaging with nature and creativity to improve social connection and mental wellbeing from six Cambridge City 4 PCN GP surgeries. We will add to pieces each session, using stitch and different techniques through co-production each week. The sessions are drop-in which enable people to manage attendance across health issues, and we’ve put in place numerous ways to support participants to overcome health barriers to attend. #itssomuchmorethansewing #socialprescribing #expression #creativeflow #communities #volunteering #integratedneighbourhoods #upcycling #foundobjectsinnature #occupationaltherapy #mentalhealth Thank you Kelly Gilders, Maria Carvalho, Andréa Grosbois, Erin Lilley, Assura Cheshire Community Foundation and the #IntegratedNeighbourhoodteam and #HuntsForum for making this happen 🤩

For anyone who is getting or supporting young people getting results today, please remember this, no matter your results #youareamazing You are the same person as you were before your results, and you aren’t defined by any one experience. At Sew Positive (UK Charity), we think achievement is about sewwww much more than academic qualifications, and are excited to announce we will be creating #digitalbadges with #regionoflearning for our new service streams coming in the Spring. #homemade #textileart #freemotionembroidery #failedlotsofthingsandthengotadegreelater #celebrateyou #mentalhealth #supportingeachother

What a fantastic session we had this morning at #Sewcialise doing #JourneyMapping with our participants, trustees and volunteers. We put this in place after our recent Trustee Strategy day. Participants input and co-production is central to our work, and it’s all about how we create impact via the journeys our participants go on. Seeing the ways this service has impacted has been just amazing (swipe to read them). What a fantastic group, thank you everyone for sharing today 🤩🧵🪡 #coproduction #journeymapping #theoryofchange #sewingformentalhealth #community #cambridge Flóra Raffai Vic Hancock Fell Vicky Haywood Fiona Kerr Jigna Vyas Gosal Mark Freeman Sarah McManus Judi Coe Joseph Barker-Sherry Alison Heron

Amazing news! 🥳🥳🥳🤩🤩🤩🧵🌿

It’s a really important week for charities like us. We are small but mighty! Over 70% of charities in the UK have an income of less than £100k, which includes us. See this brilliant message about how everyone can LOVE small charities. On a more personal level, it’s hard. As a CEO of a small charity, balancing everything from planning, delivering services, writing funding bids, collaborating with partners, organising volunteers, community events, corporate events for fundraising, working with trustees, finance, PR. We are at the coal face of delivery and make real and obvious change for those needing our services with very limited funds. Having gone through Faircollective’s #smallcharityleadersclub with Vic Hancock Fell, it’s not just me finding it tough. We need more LOVE. ❤️ #smallcharitiesweek

Applications for our free upcoming Crewelwork Embroidery course are OPEN, taking place at Central Library, Cambridge! Link below to apply. We will be making kits that have been created and donated with newcomers to crewel embroidery in mind, yet its simple but classic Jacobean-inspired design will appeal to embroiderers of all skill levels. In addition to our face-to-face sessions, we will use video tutorials, and you will also have access to additional online support sessions too. We will have a cultural theme for each week to bring together our Ukraine Refugee and Cambridge communities taking part in the course - so there will also be cake! You will make: - A completed crewelwork Jacobean embroidery sampler project - Learn how to 'block' your work - Make your finished sampler into a cushion using materials provided or your own upcycled fabrics. This course has been made possible thanks to a generous donation of materials from The Crewel Work Company, funding from Cambridge City Council - United with Ukraine Grants and Cambscuisine Community Fund via Support Cambridgeshire and Cambridgeshire Community Foundation. https://lnkd.in/e4MGBXVv Please email us if you need support to complete the form info@sewpositive.org