By Alesha Capone
Residents and community centres across the west have come together as part of a mammoth effort to sew 6000 scrub gowns for frontline staff at Western Health.
The health organisation, which runs Footscray, Sunshine and Williamstown Hospitals, has partnered with 20 community centres in the western suburbs to create the much-needed scrubs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Point Cook’s Jasmine Hill, along with her friends Lily and Cassy, kickstarted the scrubs campaign.
Mrs Hill said that she belongs to a Christian church, which last month decided to donate facemasks during the pandemic, and that she also has friends who work in hospitals.
Mrs Hill – who is a teacher at Heathdale Christian College, which had campuses in Werribee and Melton – also said that during the pandemic lockdown, she had begun thinking about ways to help the community in these “unprecedented times”.
Mrs Hill said these reasons caused her to contact the Western Health Foundation’s community fundraising manager Danny Crabb, who mentioned that hospital staff needed more scrubs.
Mrs Hill said she and her friends decided to ask people to help sew scrubs for Western Health employees.
“Us three girls, Lily, Cassy and I, we said, ‘Let’s do this,’ so we started to reach out to more people and spread the news,” she said.
Mrs Hill said she contacted Point Cook Community Learning Centre for assistance, and soon the Wyndham Park, Iramoo and Arndell Park Community Centres joined in the scrubs campaign.
Network West, which provides support to Neighbourhood Houses in the west, also became involved, and the centres began recruiting volunteers to sew the scrubs.
“I’m just very happy we now have more than 200 sewers on board,” Mrs Hill said.
“We love the community, we love the hospitals and we just want to help out.
“We want to let doctors and nurses know we are behind them.”
Spotlight Derrimut has donated 3000 metres of fabric to the campaign.
Mrs Hill said the community centres were looking for more donations of material, to supply to the volunteers making the scrubs.
She said those involved in the campaign were also still donating facemasks to healthcare staff.
Contact James at Wyndham Park Community Centre on 8742 3975 or james@wyndhamparkcc.com.au for details.
