John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to acknowledge in this place this afternoon the wonderful work of a volunteer group in my electorate of Reid called Stitching Hearts. Stitching Hearts started seven years ago with only two ladies and has now grown to eight dedicated members. Each fortnight they meet at the Concord Senior Citizens Centre to sew and to review the work they have done at home. One lady even travels a great distance from Gosford to help.

The aim of the group is to sew beautiful quilts for people and groups in the community who they feel might need a little extra comfort, including people in aged-care homes, disabled people and individuals who come to their attention who might be lonely or unwell. Two members of the group hold this aim dear to their hearts, as they are mothers of children with disabilities themselves. The ladies estimate that they have made and distributed over 300 patchwork quilts, including quilts they have donated to local organisations for fundraising activities. Their very first quilt was made and donated to the Catholic Women’s League for their National Convention Raffle. It was queen-sized and comprised of over 1,000 hand-sewn, one-inch hexagons. The quilt raised more than a staggering $8,000 for the league and gave Stitching Hearts the motivation to keep sewing.

The group relies on donations of materials from other sewers in the community who know of their good work as well as community grants, particularly those from the City of Canada Bay Council, which provides vital funding, as well as Drummoyne Rotary. The group purchased a second-hand sewing machine, which they repaired, and another sewing machine was donated to the club to help with their very valuable community work. One founding member, Mrs Darleen Fawl, notes that the group hopes that recipients of their quilts gain comfort from the bright, happy colours and warmth and she jokes that the ladies all agree that a day spent sewing quilts is a much more worthy and enjoyable way to spend a day than wasting it on housework!

The group has donated quilts to St Mary’s Villa, Concord; Grosvenor Disability Centre, Summer Hill; FRANS Respite House, Croydon; Claffy House Women’s Refuge, Burwood; St Anthony’s Respite House, Croydon; Lucas Gardens School; St. Joan of Arc Hostel, Haberfield; Yaralla Aged Care; Concord Hospital; and the list goes on. Stitching Hearts recently donated 31 handmade quilts to Lucas Gardens School, a school for severely physically and intellectually disabled children. Each quilt was made to suit the interests and preferences of every child, reflecting their likes and personalities.

The numerous appreciation letters and very personal thank you letters that the group have received are not surprising given their dedication and compassion and the care they put into their invaluable community work. I would like to read in part from a few of the thank you letters that the group has received recently. The first is from St Anthony’s Family Care, in Croydon. It says:

I am writing to you on behalf of St Anthony’s Family Care Flexible Respite Service staff, children and families to thank you for your kind donation of 12 hand made blankets to our new respite centre—Mary Mackillop Children’s Respite House for children with disabilities.

As a charitable organisation, we rely on such donations to ensure that we can continue to provide services and activities that meet the varying needs of our clients. Your hard work and generosity has assisted us to make our respite house a comfortable homely environment for children and families.

The second letter is from Lucas Gardens School. It says:

Thankyou for the amazing gift of quilts that you brought to our children at the end of last term. They were truly the most beautiful gifts anyone has ever made or given to our children. The creativity and care taken in all of the design work for the quilts, as well as the high degree of skill involved was evident to all our staff and to our parents too, and was indicative of your compassion and care for our children.

We all felt overwhelmed when we saw the quilts and knew that they were far too special to keep at school, but that they should adorn the children’s bedrooms, where they could be seen and enjoyed every day by the children and their families. I expect you may well receive a few notes from the parents too as many of them expressed their sincere delight and gratitude to us, and indicated they would be sending thankyou letters.

The third is from Family Resource and Network Support Inc., otherwise known as FRANS. I will read from it very briefly:

On behalf of the Management, Staff and, more importantly, the participants and families/carers involved with FRANS Inc.; I would like to express our appreciation for your … generous contribution of 8 hand stitched quilts to our Respite House in Croydon.

It concludes:

Many participants and families/carers in the area will be very thankful for you support.

On behalf of my electorate, I congratulate all of the members of the Stitching Hearts quilting group and thank them for their marvellous efforts for the benefit of so many in our community who are disadvantaged. I trust their work will continue to receive community support so that it can continue for many years to come. Well done, Stitching Hearts!

Question agreed to.