A local online charity is calling on all knitting enthusiasts to help make hat and scarf sets which will form part of presents given to young care leavers celebrating Christmas this year.

Woolly Hugs is an online community, based in Teddington, which knits items and donates them to individuals and families hoping to offer an extra sense of love, support, comfort and physical reassurance.

The voluntary organisation aims to bring individuals together with the common goal of helping others, whilst also providing therapeutic value supporting all, including those who are isolated through geography, advancing age or poor physical or mental health.

Woolly Hugs' Christmas scheme is the latest project the organisation is involved in. The Teddington-based charity was contacted by a similar organisation to join forces and maximise the number of knitted hats and scarfs that could be donated to care levers this Christmas.

Care Leavers Christmas Dinners were originally set up by the poet Lemn Sissay, to help communities provide a Christmas Day for young care leavers (of foster and care homes) aged 18-25, who often spend the day alone. It aims to be a magical day to be cherished and remembered by those who attend.

The Care Leavers Christmas project typically collects around 200 hand knitted hats and scarfs sets which are donated to the dinners that happen across the country.

This year, the aim is to gift hat and scarf sets to as many Christmas Dinner groups across the UK as possible and so Woolly Hugs is calling on the Teddington community to join in on the knitting challenge.

For those interested, contact Woolly Hugs at [email protected] or by directly messaging their Facebook page for the Teddington address the sets need to be sent to by November 21st.

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The chosen patterns for the hat and scarf sets can be accessed here. There are also two hat patterns for babies for those wishing to add extra items to their sets. Young carers who attend the Christmas dinner sometimes have children of their own who come along to the festive celebration.

For full details of the Woolly Hugs Christmas Knitted Callout, click the link here.