Brislington WI

A project led by Brislington WI with involvement from non-members in the community and other WIs in and around Bristol including Westbury Park, Clifton and Nailsea WI has led to over 5000 scrubs bags being made and distributed to frontline workers.

Brislington WI members responded to a need from various recipients including the NHS, care homes, SW Ambulance Service and the Prison Service. What started as a small project became a mass operation after just one week and is now known as ‘Brislington and Beyond Scrub Bags’. Alongside WI members, Brislington WI engaged a large chunk of the community in this initiative, demonstrating the strength and collaborative nature of the WI. It was a brilliant way for others to learn about the work of the WI, whilst helping out with this important project.

There are multiple hospitals in Bristol, so WI sewers have provided over 400 bags for the ICU at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and the Children’s hospital. Most orders the group receives are for 100 bags at a time, which has been easy to achieve with over 100 people sewing.

WI President Alison’s house has become HQ for the delivery of bags and collection of orders to go to frontline staff. Within the first two weeks, Alison’s house had been used to wash over 200 duvets. Even if people can’t sew, they can still help out by picking up and dropping off materials and bags as part of their daily walks.