October 2023 - December 2023

At the start of October we received an email telling us we had been shortlisted for a for us substantial grant. This grant giver sent a member of staff all the way to not so sunny Norwich, to see in person what it was we do here at ReDo. She was so impressed and the result was an opportunity for us to invest in not one, but seven sewing machines, one embroidery machine, lots of sewing related eqipment and 20 free to the user sewing workshops throughout 2024. Perfect timing as we had just started to host our "Crafty Socials" together with Wellbeing and this grant secured that we can continue to do so all of 2024. Overall, Q4 saw ReDo really step up the workshop part of what we do and the results were amazing. People learning how to make their own christmas gift bags, notebooks from scraps and necklaces from ringpulls just to name a few. The end of 2023 also saw one of our directors, Lucie, battle what seemed to be one thing after another and having to take some time off to focus on her health. This highlighted the fact that our team is very small and at the end of the year we welcomed Kaylee to the staff. Without her and our small team of volunteers help, I am not sure how we would have handled the events, making, sorting, mending and selling. We knew our volunteers were amazing, but even more so now! Roll on 2024!