The Mayor of Rushcliffe Cllr Tina Combellack is calling on knitters across the Borough to make cute yellow Easter chicks that can hold Easter eggs to give to local children through a local food bank and at selected schools in the Borough.
It follows an initial project that has seen local groups kindly knit the eye-catching creations that hold a small chocolate egg.
The idea was inspired by the creative crafters in Rushcliffe who knitted bright red poppies for Remembrance Day Wreaths following the Mayor’s successful sustainable poppy appeal last year.
Initially they will be donated to over 90 families with children who receive goods through Sewa Day Foodbank in Rushcliffe and will include a small chocolate egg donated courtesy of Morrisons supermarket in Gamston.
Now it is hoped more donations can extend to children at Rushcliffe schools to receive the items before they break for the Easter holidays on March 31.
Residents willing to take part are asked to follow the chick pattern available at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/easterchicks or any pattern similar.
Once complete, any chicks can be delivered to Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Rushcliffe Arena base on Rugby Road in West Bridgford, NG2 7YG, Rushcliffe Customer Service Centre on Gordon Road in West Bridgford, NG2 5LN, contact points in Cotgrave, Bingham and East Leake, or collected on request.
The Mayor said:
“Children love receiving an Easter toy and egg. Firstly, we wanted to reach out to those who use one of our local food banks and bring some extra Easter happiness to families when they receive food parcels in April.
“We want to extend the project even further and ask knitters to make more chicks. The additional eggs will be donated from my office.
“I hope hundreds more chicks can be knitted to bring a ray of sunshine during the school holidays.”
Sewa Day Co-ordinator Hetvi Parekh added:
“On behalf of the entire team at the Sewa Day Rushcliffe Foodbank, I would like to thank all the knitters and Madam Mayor for connecting the two groups together for a very worthy cause.
“The children who are supported by our foodbank will be delighted to see these knitted chicks and eggs in the food parcels for Easter. We look forward to packing our Easter special parcels!”
Kelly Uvegas, Community Champion from Morrisons Gamston said: It’s a pleasure to donate these chocolate eggs to Sewa Day Foodbank to give local families a special Easter surprise when they receive their food parcels next month.
“The volunteers at Sewa Day do an absolutely fantastic job providing food to people and families who need it most.
“Here at Morrisons, we believe in supporting the community.”
The first batch of chicks for the promotion was knitted by the Ruddington Yarn Ninjas and Karen Buckley from Hickling.
For questions or more information on the project please email mayor@rushcliffe.gov.uk
