Newsletter September 2011
The big news is that Woolsack is now part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad having been granted the Inspire mark.
The summer has seen Woolsack events around the country and the enthusiasm has been amazing. At every event at least one person would come up and tell us about their group and how many cushions they are making †and we knew nothing about them! Such surprises are wonderful, but please don't forget to keep in touch.
A few of the cushions have been on their own adventures and meeting some UK elite athletes †they love them! Some wonderful photographs and comments on the facebook group and Ravelry group.
Also some very moving stories from individuals and groups about what getting involved with the 2012 Games through Woolsack means to them. Please share your stories and experiences with us †we hope to share many of these with a wider audience. Photographs especially can tell the story of Woolsack.
Exciting but URGENT
Given the number of requests for a stuffing event at the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitiching Show, 6-9 October, Knit Magazine has very kindly made room for us on their stand.
KS&S has provided free passes for volunteers †but we need more volunteers to cover one or more of the 4 days.
There will be time off for you to leave the stand and look around the show †if we can get 4 volunteers per day then everyone can have a half day off. Please contact Sue (sue@woolsack.org) if you'd like to help.
Regional Supporter/Co-ordinators
This is a local person to just keep groups in touch, act as a local shoulder supporting people who want to be involved, and make sure information gets through †mostly email and a few phone calls we think.
If you'd be interested, or like more information then please get in touch with Sue or Jane (jane@woolsack.org)
Spreading the news!
Our hope is that over the next few weeks we can get the news about Woolsack to everyone who might like to join in. So please spread the news around yourself, use social networking websites, and don't be shy about letting your local press know that your group/guild/school is starting its own Woolsack project. We can advise you on how to do that if you'd like some publicity for your group. There is an A4 poster about Woolsack on the website (http://www.woolsack.org/posters) for you to download, print and put up in appropriate places.
Do you know an athlete?
We have some wonderful personal relationships with a growing number of athletes hoping to compete in the 2012 Games, but would like to extend this. Many people know an athlete or know someone with a link. They love hearing about Woolsack (and being photographed with a cushion which we can lend) and we love getting to know them through sharing their selection journey and training. Please let us know about any contacts you may have or can find.
Stuffing Events
In addition to the large stuffing events we're making it possible for local groups and guilds to have their own events so that members can finish their cushions together. Lots of information about this on the website:
http://www.woolsack.org/stuffingevents