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Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children%u2019s FundRoyal Navy & Royal Marines Children%u2019s Fund

Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund

KNIT ‘N’ NATTER
Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund
urge people to knit together

The Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund (RN&RMCF), the only charity dedicated to supporting children whose parents work for the Naval Services, has created a sensitive new 2013 initiative called ‘Knit the Family’.

The RN&RMCF is focusing on the importance of ’knitting’ families back together when one of the parents returns from active military service.  Central to the initiative will be a handbook aimed at providing practical support and guidance for the family in helping to overcome the effects of PTSD and OSR (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Operational Stress Reaction).

Volunteers across the UK and even Europe have been busily knitting pairs of parent and children dolls holding hands to symbolise knitting the family back together using patterns kindly donated by Fiona Goble, best-selling author of books such as: ‘Knit your own Royal Wedding’! 

Knit ‘n’ Natter groups are tremendously sociable and a great way for people to feel involved.  Even amateur knitters will be amazed at what they can create with the help of more experienced knitters to guide them. The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth has kindly offered to host a Knit ‘n’ Natter group on behalf of the RN&RMCF to encourage people to talk about the issues surrounding ‘Knit the Family’ whilst making these emotive and beautiful little dolls.

Full details including the pattern, pictures and where to send the completed dolls can be found on RN&RMCF website: http://www.rnrmchildrensfund.org.uk

Monique Bateman, Director of RN&RMCF says:  “People are always incredibly generous towards our charity because everyone recognises the sadness, especially for children, caused by disharmony in the home.  Returning service personnel have much to contend with as do their families and what we are trying to achieve is a more seamless reintegration into family life.   The little dolls are rich in symbolism and we desperately need volunteers to click their needles for us”

For further information please contact: Natalie Lloyd at Spider PR on 020 7403 6900, [email protected].

·           • PTSD and OSR are common terms describing a spectrum of expected and predictable emotional, intellectual, physical and/or behavioural reactions to stressful events which service men and women may feel/encounter when they are involved in military operations

• The pattern for the dolls has been specially created by Fiona Goble, who published ‘Knit your own Royal Wedding’ last year with Ivy Press who have kindly donated the pattern to the RN&RMCF.  Fiona Goble and Ivy Press have also published books such as Knit Your Own Zombie, Fairy Tale Knits and Farmyard Knitsand recently a pattern to ‘Knit Your Own Royal Baby’
• Laughing Hens, the knitting website for all your knitting needs has kindly offered a 10% discount to those buying wool or other items to knit the small dolls when quoting ‘RNRMCF’ at the checkout.  www.laughinghens.com