Premature babies set to benefit from legacy of late Alness-based midwife as Caroline's Cuddles secures welcome wool donation from housebuilder
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A BIG-hearted donation inspired by a much-loved former community midwife in Easter Ross will benefit premature babies across Scotland.
Caroline's Cuddles was set up by Jackie McAleese in memory of her best friend Caroline Kennedy who sadly passed away in May 2014.
Caroline, from Alness, was a community midwife with NHS Highland and delivered hundreds of babies during her career.
The pair had been friends since primary school and although Caroline moved to the Highlands as a teenager they remained close and their two families often spent holidays together.
Jackie said: "Caroline had such a love and passion for her job and I spoke to her husband Ian and her sons and they felt this would be a nice way for her love for new babies to live on."
She has welcomed a donation from housebuilder Bellway Homes Ltd (Scotland West) of £250 worth of wool to Caroline’s Cuddles which provides hand knitted hats, blankets and cardigans to special care baby units across Scotland.
She said: "We are so grateful to Bellway Homes Ltd (Scotland West) who gave us 100 balls of wool which enabled us to recruit extra volunteer knitters.”
Bellway learned about Caroline’s Cuddles from technical secretary Tracy Stewart whose mum is one of their most talented knitters.
Jackie added: “Tracy and her mum Irene Macfarlane are beyond amazing. Irene must have knitted hundreds of hats, cardigans and bootees for us – she jokes knitting is better than weight watchers for keeping you from munching. I am not the best knitter myself, I have been knitting the same scarf for twenty years, so I am completely in awe of the gorgeous clothes she makes.”
Along with clothes for special care baby units, the group also knits teddy bears for memory boxes for parents of babies born sleeping and recently sent some baby clothes for newborns in Ukraine.
Although it’s hard work organising and distributing the knitting, Jackie says it is all worth it when the group gets letters back from the special care baby units or see pictures of wee ones wearing their knitting.
“It is a really rewarding project to work on, although at times every cupboard in my house is full of knitting and I have no storage space left at all!” she added.
Pauline Coates, sales director for Bellway Homes Ltd (Scotland West) said: “I cannot think of a better cause to support and it was incredible to see how many items the knitters were able to make with the balls of wool.
“We had them all laid out in our boardroom in Hamilton and we couldn’t believe how much work must have gone into them. It is lovely to think of the little ones being kept cosy in these beautiful hats and cardigans.”
Do you have a story or picture for us? Email hector.mackenzie@hnmedia.co.uk
