This winter, The Creative Fringe set a challenge to locals to knit a square to go towards warm blankets to help our homeless.
In true Penrith style, the community embraced the challenge and went above and beyond expectations, with an outstanding 1842 squares knitted over six weeks, which made a total of 49 blankets.
Last week the blankets were donated to Mama Lana’s Community Foundation where they will be carefully distributed to community members in need.
“We were thinking that we were probably going to get about five completed blankets, and that would have been amazing. This is just the next level,” The Creative Fringe Community Manager, Rienna Kroh said.
The volume of squares knitted was so overwhelming that The Creative Fringe hosted a sewing bee where volunteers came together to help sew the squares into blankets.
“It was really humbling, somebody referred to it as chicken soup for the soul,” Ms Kroh said.
“It’s bringing complete strangers together for one cause, for one heartfelt goal.”
Lana Borg of Mama Lana’s Community Foundation said she was absolutely blown away by the response.
“These will be for our domestic violence victims,” she said.
Ms Borg said that many people fleeing from domestic violence leave with nothing except the clothes on their back, and the not-for-profit organisation is contacted daily with requests for help.
She believes the blankets, knitted with compassion by caring locals, will provide more than just warmth to domestic violence victims through their one of a kind designs.
The Creative Fringe has already started planning next year’s challenge where they will encourage locals to sew or crochet plastic bags together to make waterproof mats for the homeless.
Emily Newton
Emily Newton is the Weekender's police and political reporter. Emily is also the Weekender's Senior Journalist.