A group of local knitters have joined forces with TELUS's Community Ambassador program to put their love of knitting to good use.
Every week, a group of ladies gather together to catch-up with each other and purl a few rows - and it's all for a good cause.
The group makes baby blankets and flannelette capes for mothers who have lost their baby during or soon after birth. The donations are meant to give the mothers something to take home and to acknowledge the trauma of such a tragedy.
"The picture starts with a pregnant mum going into labour early in their pregnancy and the baby doesn't survive. At that point, the mother gets some counselling from the hospital, and just to show some support we make up these boxes that are given to them, only if they want one," said Barb Claffey.
One of the knitters knows first hand how difficult it is to go through having a child die soon after birth.
Rosaleen Scoullar lost her daughter just hours after giving birth, so she knows how difficult it is to lose a child.
"I was in the hospital for a couple days, in a private room and afterwards we just came home. My [baby] wasn't stillborn, [Kirsten] lived for five hours. I never did see her. In those days, you didn't see them. My husband did. And there was really no counselling then," said Scoullar.
TELUS retiree Kathy Nadalin heard about the Angel Project through her employer's ambassador program. The project was originally formed in eastern Canada. When Nadalin told Claffey about the idea, she jumped at the chance.
Her friends had been knitting together weekly and they had all expressed a desire to give back to the community and the Angel Project was a perfect fit.
"It would never have worked without the sponsorship of the TELUS community ambassadors. They are the ones who put up the money for supplies. But unless we had the support of the hospital, it wasn't going to work. So we met Linda Davies, clinical practice leader and Carolyn Jacob, social worker. These two girls have been so wonderful and supportive of us. They've been incredible to work with," said Claffey.
The group of women meet once a week at Claffey's house. They put together donated boxes with a handmade baby blanket, a cape and an angel ornament from the ladies.
Some ladies in the group knit small baby blankets while others sew and embroider capes for the babies to wear.
"The hospital initially figured they would give 20 boxes a year. We put together eight boxes at a time and deliver them to the hospital," said Claffey.
The project eventually expanded to include premature babies that live but are hospitalized for months.
"Once you start doing something like this, you realize how much work it is. It's not just a matter of sitting there knitting little blankets," said Claffey.
The hospital staff asked whether the group would be willing to support them as well and the group agreed to help.
"We went back to TELUS and they agreed to sponsor us again. We decided to call it the Little Miracles," said Claffey. "I sent the hospital 15 boxes last time because nowadays there are many more babies that are living."
Decades later and Scoullar still feels the effects of losing a child.
"Every once is a while, my daughter will reference her older sister, and I am reminded of Kirsten," she said. "It doesn't matter how many years go by, it's still a very painful memory."
