I am raising money for Sew Positive, a small charity which brings people together through the beauty of making. As the daughter of a seamstress, it was probably inevitable that I would eventually get into sewing!

Sew Positive runs community sewing groups to support people facing isolation or mental health difficulties around Cambridge. As a volunteer, I have seen firsthand how it brings people together in a supportive, kind environment, building up skills and creating new things — mainly from recycled or reused textiles. It brings together so many of the issues I am passionate about into one place and I hope my fundraising contribution will help it to keep going, one stitch at a time.

But it’s not about me — here is what one of the participants had to say:

Ukraine Refugee Antonina took part in a course. She said: “I sincerely thank your entire team, because, in fact, I got a lot of pleasure from the Jacobean embroidery process itself, getting to know the technique. And what is more important, it was interesting to meet new people, to communicate in English, which I study in the Regional College, because "People need people"! With your projects, you are doing a great job of improving the mental health, self, and psycho-emotional state of us Ukrainians , who were forced to leave their homes with the war and adapt to life in a new country. I bow to you for your sincerity, kindness and understanding!”