[View this email in your browser]() The Scrubbery was four years old on 26th January 2024. Four years since Rosie began work in her front room. Memories of what we were all living through in that spring of 2020 can fade. In this Anniversary Newsletter, we are taking the opportunity to look back over the years and to celebrate the achievements of all of us involved in the life of The Scrubbery.  **Who we are:** A non-profit charity under the umbrella of the Parish of St. Mary’s with All Saints, Putney. We are a group of over 200 volunteers with ages ranging from the youngest of 11 to the most senior aged 95! **How we started:** In January 2020 Rosie, aware that her petite daughter, a junior doctor, could not get scrubs to fit, was working on a revised pattern for scrubs. Her research revealed that many doctors were unable to find scrubs to meet their requirements. Then as the pandemic unfolded it became apparent that there was a huge national shortage of scrubs. Rosie finalised her scrub pattern to address these different needs. Using this pattern she created a system of cutting multiple patterns at once and assembling ready cut bundles of pieces for volunteers of varying abilities to sew scrubs at home. The Scrubbery was underway in earnest.  **What we make:** Scrubs, masks, child and adult hospital gowns, wellbeing bags for front-line staff, camouflage netting, quilts for children in hospital, children’s pyjamas, headbands, scrunchies and reuseable sanitary towels to combat period poverty. Since the outset of war in Ukraine we have supplied scrubs to Ukrainian hospitals as well as acting as a hub for collecting many different kinds of aid to send there. These include making camouflage nets, collecting unwanted crutches and even driving a donated van full of aid to Lviv. Recently we arranged for 10 articulated lorry loads of unwanted medical clothing from a UK hospital trust to be sent to Ukraine. So far have made - Over 24,100 scrub garments  - 11,246 masks excluding those in wellbeing bags  - 7,089 scrub hats  - 2,300 well being bags  - 4,631 laundry bags  - 20+ camouflage nets - Hundreds of other items including headbands, scrunchies, children’s pyjamas and adult and children’s procedure gowns  As well as organising many shipments of general aid to Ukraine, including a donated van, and 10 lorry loads of unwanted NHS medical goods. **Why we do it:** To address any critical need: to teach and learn new skills: to promote sustainability: to bring joy to the maker and recipient and to thank and acknowledge front-line staff who work so hard.  We have asked some of the volunteers to tell the story of their personal involvement in and experience of volunteering. **Joanna Teverson** I retired just before the pandemic began. By the spring of 2020 I was looking for an opportunity to help out somewhere and feel ‘useful.’ I heard about the Scrubbery from a neighbour. I have zero sewing skills so was unsure what I could contribute; turned out to be quite a lot! There are so many non-sewing jobs to do. Rosie always plans in advance. Each volunteer is allocated appropriate tasks with Rosie there to demonstrate and help if necessary. No time is wasted. Every time I turned up I was given my varied to-do list. Initially, this was moving the whole operation to the Bank of England. Once there, we were faced with sorting out mountains of donated fabric to be sewn into scrubs; some of it in terrible condition. My speciality was pillow cases, hundreds of pillow cases! Other jobs might include unpicking duvet covers, assembling scrub kits, sorting coloured threads (strangely satisfying), preparing wellbeing bags, writing a personal thank you note to the recipient, making camouflage nets and now editing the newsletter. There is always a sense of purpose and a sense of fun. It turns out that being able to follow instructions and work as part of a team is all you need.  **Gill Taylor** Hi, I am a mum and grandma and have just moved to Sussex from Putney. I heard through a friend about The Scrubbery when it first started while it was working from St Mary’s church in Putney. It was the start of Covid and I wanted to help in some way and I enjoyed sewing.  I started making the scrubs and then started volunteering which entailed doing anything I was asked to do: wellbeing bags, hats, making coffee, hoovering up all the threads from the carpets … anything. The Scrubbery has been a wonderful thing for me. I have met amazing people, and it has kept me occupied during Covid and afterwards. Generally it gave me a good feeling of helping and doing something big for other people, be it at home with the NHS or more recently with Ukraine. The wonderful thing about The Scrubbery is that when you arrive to help you never know what you might be doing—sorting patterns, helping in the library, making hats, but whatever it is, it is fun. It is lovely to have a chat with others and feel good about your time there. As well as yummy croissants !!    **Maureen Harding** My name is Maureen Harding, I am retired, and in early 2020 I was fortunate to be able to have a wonderful holiday in New Zealand. Just after my return to the UK Lockdown was announced and all thoughts of that wonderful time were soon put on a back burner with the frightening unknown situation the world and country, were all experiencing. I was, as now, a member of Putney Women's Institute and we received an e-mail from The Hospital for Neuro-disability on West Hill asking if any of our members could sew and make Scrubs for them. They were only able to supply a pattern, material had to be sourced yourself. I said I would be interested. But nothing came of this. A fellow member told me that her neighbour was sewing scrubs for The Scrub Hub, based in St. Mary's Church, Putney. I was given the details and contacted them to offer my help. I felt a bit like I was getting into the wartime spirit and doing my bit. I was sent the instructions of how to make the scrubs and said that I felt it was something I could manage. My first set were delivered to me and following their completion, further sets were then collected and delivered to Putney Pantry on a weekly basis. During the initial lock down I came to realise that the sewing I was doing was not only necessary and essential but by volunteering with the Scrubbery it was helping me keep any anxieties under control because I was keeping busy and being useful. I have continued to sew after the moves to both the Bank of England Sports Ground and now the Oasis Academy. Recently I've been able to spare a few hours helping at the Scrubbery itself, which I enjoy. **Graham Shaw** My wife, Kathleen and I came to Putney with our family in 1975 when I was appointed to the Admiralty “to drive a large mahogany desk” aided by a typewriter and a single telephone, (no mobiles or internet in those days), having sailed in and later “driven” several ships during the previous 30 years. It was on a cold dark night in early 2020 that Rosie called me.. “… Could I come to the upper Hall at St Mary’s Church …” and “don’t forget your face mask”, she reminded me! This is when it all started, every hospital and clinic was screaming for scrubs. Not being a dab hand with my very old Singer Sewing machine, I decided I could help best with several supporting jobs, such as collecting donated bolts of material, sourcing thread, deliveries of scrub kits, collecting the finished scrubs, supervising and helping several ladies in Mount Court who were able to use their machines during the first 6 months (sadly few of them are still around). Then there was the a scramble to find an alternative Cutting room with enough floor space. Several options were considered, until the Bank of England squash courts in Roehampton were offered. The move took only 2 days and due to a superhuman effort on the part of many, this was effected without work interruption. Sometime later a further move into another part of the B of E Sports Club complex was accomplished which was ideal and again, gratefully accepted. In May 2022 came the next move to the Oasis school which has wonderfully provided for the Scrubbery’s present needs. Some readers may not have been aware that until the early1980s, this was the Putney Hospital, until Charing Cross Hospital was opened.  By this time while there were always grateful recipients for Scrubs in many parts of UK and not just locally, the focus was shifting to supplying the urgent needs of the medics and nurses in Ukraine.  **Jos Sampson** My name is Jos Sampson and I have been a Scrubbery volunteer since the summer of 2020. I had retired from my very full time job as a dental practice manager, and when a neighbour told me about Rosie and her work with the NHS I joined immediately. I remember rushing to finish my first sets and my wonderful partner John ironing them at top speed so that I could deliver them to the church in Putney on time. Rosie said “the top pocket is on the wrong side, but otherwise very good”. Knowing that the scrubs we were making during the pandemic were going straight into use in hospitals gave me a real sense of purpose. It was a very scary time but the Scrubbery allowed me to feel that I was ‘doing my bit’. That we are now helping Ukraine is equally important - the situation there is so awful that I want to do all I can to help. I like working by myself and am lucky to have a room for sewing where it doesn’t matter how many pins I drop on the floor. With the radio on and my dog sleeping peacefully beside me, I enjoy the sewing and find it pleasantly relaxing. I did a domestic science course after leaving school and I sometimes think of the two sewing teachers at the college - I think they would approve of my current efforts. Knowing that I am doing a good job and achieving something of value is very satisfying. The Scrubbery is an important organisation and I enormously admire the ways in which it is expanding to help so many people both in this country and Ukraine. I am very proud to be a small part of it. **Hilary Tilbury** I’m a retired school teacher, now 78 years old. I have 2 sons, no grandchildren yet (though one on the way, fingers crossed) My husband, Patrick died 12 years ago. We had a happy and hedonistic 5 years of retirement. I did quite a bit of different volunteering and when Covid struck found as so many others did that I was bored, though luckily for me not very anxious. I think I found out about the Scrubbery through either one of Fleur Anderson’s SW15 newsletters. I have always enjoyed sewing, though latterly mostly made costumes for school drama productions and family alterations. Rosie’s perfectionism and attention to detail came as a bit of a shock! I have made scrubs, well-being bags, scrub bags, hats, masks and scrunchies (yuk) I’ve also done quite a lot of repairs which I’m not so fond of apart from back neck facings which along with the scrunchies I hate. Rosie and the Scrubbery have now been an important part of my life for over 3 years. I have met lots of lovely people and got/get a lot of slightly smug satisfaction from knowing I am helping others in a small way. My lasting memories so far will probably be; how cold it was in the squash court, volunteering to finish a beautiful quilt which turned out to be a lot more work than I anticipated, helping with the move to the Oasis on a very hot day and the general companionship and friendship of everyone involved. Thank you, Rosie, for your vision, drive and inability to say no. Long may they last.  **Christopher Taylor-Davies** I was once described as a Computer Wizard when my daughter’s school needed my job description and Rosie was put on the spot and had no idea, but it seems as apt a description as any. As you might have worked out yourself I became aware of the Scrubbery as it unfolded around me. Most of my assistance has been in the background, helping with setting up and maintaining the website for instance, and generally being support on all manner of things including laying out the long rolls of fabric ready for cutting, especially in the early days, or delivering well-being bags on my bike. The Scrubbery is special as an embodiment of community, bringing people together to create something unique and genuinely useful. One highlight, albeit extremely minor, was the wonderful Heath Robinson basket and pulley arrangement Rosie set up to convey items up and down from the squash courts to the viewing gallery above when the Scrubbery was at the Bank of England sports ground.  **Pam Gledhill** In June 2020, an email from a former colleague describing her work as part of the machine team led to me contacting the Scrubbery. As the former Head of Textiles Technology at a grammar school for girls, I thought my skill set would come in useful. Little did I think then that nearly four years later I would still be involved, and have seen the Scrubbery move from the Bank of England squash courts to the main building, and onwards to the school. During this time my older daughter has married and produced two children, so I now also spend quite a lot of time sewing and knitting very much smaller garments. Rosie also occasionally allows me a week or two off(!) to continue my love of wildlife holidays, and I have just returned from a few days bird-watching in the Camargue area of France. As well as sewing scrubs at home, I quickly found myself in charge of checking returns and correcting errors, the majority of which were due to faulty back neck facings. Most of the in-house team will at some point have probably heard me muttering darkly while wielding the seam ripper, but there is actually huge satisfaction not only in getting the garments up to scratch, but also helping some of the machine team to get things right in future. I have also assisted with fabric lays, placing pattern pieces to create the relevant marker, and bundling the cut pieces ready for the machine team to collect. Operating Rosie’s embroidery machine to create the ‘thank you’ labels that were attached to the wellbeing bags also took up much of my time when at the Bank. Since the Scrubbery moved to supporting Ukraine, the range of tasks has expanded to include sorting toys, books and other donations, packing boxes, and many other minor tasks that need to be done for deliveries to Ukraine to be made successfully. There is a definite sense of satisfaction in being part of the team that makes this happen. I wonder what the next four years will bring? If you have information to include in the newsletter please send it to Jo ([Joanna.teverson@yahoo.co.uk](mailto:Joanna.teverson@yahoo.co.uk)), who we welcome as our new newsletter compiler. Thanks so much to Jo for stepping up.