Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Throughout this pandemic, we've seen Australians go above and beyond to assist their fellow Australians in a spirit of community and mateship—Australians like Cass Gell from Waterford, who in 2015 founded Sewing for Charity Australia, a national charity with a roster of over 3,000 volunteers who have made over 150,000 handmade items and donated them to vulnerable Australians. Recently, they opened their headquarters, known as the Sewing Lair, in Beenleigh. The Sewing Lair is where creativity meets community. It is completely run by volunteers and is a safe and supportive space for people to come together, form new friendships, learn new skills and create with purpose. The volunteers are the heart and soul of the Forde electorate, and it's great to see that Australians from all walks of life are ready and willing to help. People such as year 12 student Thomas Gore, Quota Beenleigh member Gillian Giles and even the local councillors and my wife, Judi, have given up their time to lend a hand. Since opening, Sewing for Charity have supported over 250 organisations and hundreds of families with special-needs items for children, the elderly, cancer patients, premature babies and more. More recently, they have been busy sewing re-usable masks for vulnerable Australians and have sent almost 10,000 of them all over the country, including to Victoria. Thank you, Cass and the team from Sewing for Charity Australia.

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