A manufacturing company employee from County Durham who took part in a charity letter writing appeal got extra creative when she made a special handkerchief for a visually impaired care home resident, complete with embroidered initials for him to feel.
Ann Charlton, who works at Lubrizol in Consett, was one of the members of staff to take part in the ‘Give … a few words’ project which sees participants sending letters to isolated people.
The campaign was founded in the 2020 lockdown as a way of spreading cheer to people in care homes through the form of an old-fashioned letter, at a time when they could not be visited by friends or family.
Employees at the Consett branch of Lubrizol who took part in this year’s appeal wrote their letters by hand, as they do not operate computers at work. But Ann went one step further when she discovered that the intended recipient of her letter was severely visually impaired. As an additional kind gesture, she embroidered him a handkerchief featuring his initials, along with his hand-written letter.
The handkerchief embroidered by Ann.
Ann said: “I thought if he couldn’t see very well, that if he felt the letters, he might enjoy that.”
Ann took up embroidery during lockdown because she herself had to isolate for many months for health reasons, and found it a good way of relaxing and being mindful. Since returning to work she has used her machine to make embroidered emblems on the overalls of colleagues.
She said she thought the ‘Give … a few words’ project was an excellent way of reaching out to people who might be feeling isolated – a feeling she herself recognised from her own experiences during lockdown.
“I think it’s a lovely idea,” she said. “It must be hard for people who have nobody, and I bet it makes their day to get a letter.”
Sharron Wilkinson, of Huddersfield, founder of ‘Give … a few Words’, said: “We are very lucky to have many people and organisations who support our project trying to reach isolated people and those who need a little cheer across the area. We are grateful to every single person who helps us and every member of staff from Lubrizol who help us by writing kind words for others. As well as receiving lovely letters for others, this was the first time that we have received an initial embroidered on to a handkerchief and we were completely blown away, not just by the meticulous detail but the kindness and thoughtfulness of this amazing gesture.”
Staff from the care home who received the letters said that residents had been “over the moon” to receive them.
Paula Gibson, site manager at Lubrizol’s Consett branch, who also took part in the letter writing for ‘Give … a few words’, said: “These letters might be the only interaction that some people have with the outside, so it’s nice for them to get them. The campaign is a great idea and we’re very pleased to support it.”
Claire Hollingshurst, from Lubrizol’s charities and communities committee in Derbyshire, said: “At Lubrizol we really believe in volunteering and giving back to the community, so we’ve been delighted to take part in the ‘Give … a few words’ campaign for a few years now. Being a global corporation, we’ve had people from our branches all over the UK and overseas taking part in this. It’s a great, simple idea for reaching out to people who are experiencing isolation, and we’re very pleased to be involved.”
The ‘Give … a few words’ project is gearing up for its Christmas campaign for volunteers to pen some letters around the festive period, which can be especially difficult for people who are isolated. For details, head to the project’s website where there will be full details towards the end of October. See thegive.co.uk/ for more.
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