Hull Women Sew Blankets for Refugees

Since the start of the refugee crisis in Europe, members from the Hull area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have fulfilled several projects to help support the refugees, but it was in May of this year that Jemma Everitt, women's leader, felt inspired to appeal to the local women in the area to donate blankets for the same cause. The target was 100 blankets to be brought to a local meeting being held for females aged 8 and over at the end of September 2017.  Here, the sisters would also watch the General Women’s Conference session held the previous week in Salt Lake City, and attend special creative workshops and discussion groups.

Not only the mothers and older women in the group, but also many of the young girls took up the challenge. Sewing, knitting and crocheting kept the women busy throughout the summer, with a firm determination to reach the goal that had been set them. At the meeting in September, bags full of quilts and blankets were brought by loving hands that had been so busy. When they were all counted, there were 272 items donated. A special workshop was set up to sew hearts on all the items collected, symbolic of the love that was sent to these people in need.

Only four days before the women’s meeting was to be held, Jemma received a phone call from Cath Edwards of Hull Help for Refugees. Jemma was told that a special appeal from Calais had gone out to refugee organisations informing them that there was a desperate need for more blankets and asking if more could be donated from areas around the United Kingdom. Imagine Cath’s surprise when Jemma was able to say that we would have 100 quilts and blankets ready to hand over by the end of the week. Cath’s surprise later turned to amazement when she was told that there was more than double the number she had been promised. Jemma truly felt that she had been inspired four months earlier to begin this project.