Sheffield stitchers appeal for funds to help them sew NHS scrubs

Sheffield Scrubs Up is aiming to raise £20,000 to purchase fabric for scrubs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since being set up in March 2020, the volunteers of Sheffield Scrubs Up have sewn almost 500 sets of scrubs for medical key-workers and have requests for 680 more so far and requests continuing to flow in.

All the stitchers are giving their time for free. They have set themselves the ambitious target of raising £20,000. Proceeds go directly to purchasing enough fabric in bulk to make around 1000 sets of scrubs.

More than £10,000 has already been raised, and the group are appealing for donations to help them reach their target.

Amy Palmer said “We set up Sheffield Scrubs Up because we heard about the shortages of scrubs in hospitals and healthcare settings. We’ve received requests from GPs, hospital departments, community clinics and more. Often they have tried to purchase scrubs but they simply haven’t been available.”

“The NHS is not a charity, and we do not believe they should be having to ask for help in this manner. But the fact is our healthcare workers are at risk and in need, so regardless of the underlying politics we will do all we can. Once the NHS workers are kitted out we will be turning our attention to other care workers who are working with our most vulnerable people.”

Fellow organiser Kinsy Oleman-Grace, a post-graduate research student, said “It started as a Facebook group, but we now have a website and an amazing team of volunteers doing the organising and sewing. The response has been incredible: over 300 people have signed up as volunteers, and we’ve had to temporarily turn off registration just to catch up! But NHS organisations can still use our website to request scrubs.”

Becky Ashfield has put her upcycling business ‘Graft’ on hold and turned her front room into a warehouse as the main ‘operations centre’ working 18 hour days.

NHS organisations in Sheffield who need scrubs should visit https://sheffieldscrubs.wordpress.com/

Donations can be made via https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/scrubs-supporters