Woman raises thousands for children’s hospices by sewing over 700 masks
A Cambridgeshire woman has sewn over 700 masks and raised £3,500 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
Before the pandemic hit, Morag Clifford used to make personalised mohair teddy bears as wedding gifts or to celebrate a birth.
The fundraiser, from Thriplow, has since turned her craft to face masks, which she first began to sew for friends and family at the beginning of lockdown.
Morag said: “As it became more obvious that face masks were going to become mandatory, I thought it would be a great idea to make them for my local community and donate the proceedings to charity.”
EACH stood out to Morag as she had raised money for it in 2017 through the Thriplow Daffodil Weekend & Country Fair.
She said: “Every year the village runs a fair, we raise money for local charities and in 2017 EACH was our chosen charity.
“During this fundraising weekend, volunteers from EACH were wonderful, helping me on the stands within the children’s area, making my life easier and increasing the enjoyment for the children.
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“They helped me when I needed it and, in a time when fundraising was limited, I wanted help them in return.
“Over the last five months, I’ve sold masks to friends, the local community via Thriplow Village Shop, to staff at South Cambridge Physiotherapy and their friends, families and clients, and to staff and customers at my daughter’s bridal boutique, Clifford Burr Bridal.
“I’ve also been told that within two different hospitals the animal fabric masks have been extremely popular.
“After five months of sewing, with over 700 masks made, I’m thrilled to have raised such a large sum of money and it will be a worthwhile and personally rewarding memory to take away from the lockdown of 2020.”
Morag said she would love to continue but, with face masks the norm now, demand is dwindling.
She added that she is excited to start work on other projects, including her teddy bears and personalised advent calendars, which are at the top of her to-do list.
Donate online or set up your own fundraiser by emailing cambs@each.org.uk. For ideas visit the charity’s website.
