Crafty Crew members are determined to raise cash for these great isle causes

June 20, 2017 Kathy Bailes Community 0

crafty2 — All the Crafty Crews' goods are hand-made

Crafters in Birchington are on a drive to use their talents to raise cash for local causes.

The Birchington and Westgate Crafty Crew have a programme of fairs scheduled for this year after a successful launch of their events last December.

Jan Kelsea-Simmons, who lives in Birchington, was encouraged to found the group last December after posting about the idea on Facebook. The aim was to form a group of local crafters who were looking for an outlet to display and sell their wares, the stipulation being that everything had to be hand-made.

After asking for admin volunteers, Lorraine Hambidge and Jackie Datlen joined Jan and arrangements were made for the first Crafty Crew Fair to take place on December 10, 2016, at Church House, Birchington..

Jan was keen for the events to also raise funds for charity and so organised a raffle at the first fair, with proceeds going to Cancer Research. The amount raised was £240.

Following the success of the December fair, it was decided to hold further events throughout 2017, with donations being made to QEQM Hospital. The target was £500 for the Rainbow Children’s Ward. Fairs in February and April hit that target.

The next target will again be £500 which will be donated to the Dementia/Stroke Unit and following this, the same amount will be donated to the Special Care Baby Unit.

Jan said: “None of this would have been possible without our very talented stallholders, members of the public who attend the fairs, local businesses who kindly display our posters and leaflets and also donate prizes for the raffle.

“The success of the fairs and fundraising is also due to the hard work of all of the admin team who are, in their own right, very talented crafters.”

The range of crafts on offer includes jewellery, cards, book folds, wood crafts, signs, bird feeders, crystal suncatchers and much more, all hand-made.

The Crafty Crew has also appointed another admin, Elaine Chaplin, to help with the busy schedule.

Jan added: “Although the fairs to date have been held at Church House, we have been very extremely fortunate that the head teacher at King Ethelbert School is allowing us to use their premises for our pre-Christmas Fair which takes place on Saturday 4 November.

“We are enormously grateful for this opportunity, particularly as this venue will enable us to offer a much larger number of stalls and so increase the amount of money we can raise for QEQM.”

Fancy a stall?

Are you, or is someone you know, a keen gardener who usually sells plants, flowers, vegetables etc at local boot fairs? If so, why not consider having a table at one of the crafty crew events. During the July, August and September fairs, they will have tables in the grounds of Church House, Birchington as well as those inside.

The grounds are adjacent to the main road into Birchington and the surrounding areas, so will be visible not only to local residents, but also to traffic making its way to Thanet. As with any outdoor events, you would be advised to bring a gazebo or similar shelter.

For further information please email [email protected].