After adopting St Barnabas Hospice as their second charity partner, the Lincolnshire Association of Woodturners has donated 30 handmade wig stands to the charity.
Set up in 1993, the Lincolnshire Association of Woodturners is based at Leasingham near Sleaford, but has been meeting virtually since the coronavirus pandemic began. They chose to adopt St Barnabas Hospice as their second charity partner earlier this year, and have since crafted 30 exquisite wig stands for the charity’s Wig Bank.
The St Barnabas Wig Bank provides free, invaluable support to patients living with a life-limiting or terminal illness across Lincolnshire. Help is given with wig selection, fitting, styling and aftercare, as well as emotional support for those who are coming to terms with hair loss.
Ray Blake from the Lincolnshire Association of Woodturners said, “The wig stand idea came from a friend and fellow woodturner in Canada, so we adopted it and ran a challenge through our club. It was agreed that we wanted these wig stands to help people in need, which is why we chose to select St Barnabas as our second charity partner.”
Karen McCay, Clinical Services Manager at St Barnabas Hospice added, “I was delighted when Ray got in touch with me about supporting the Hospice. Previously we had been using polystyrene stands which weren’t as durable or visually appealing. These new wig stands will display our wigs beautifully and the unique details in each one makes them extra special.”
St Barnabas Hospice cared for John Ingamells’s mother in the last few days of her life. John is Chairman of the Association and said, “It’s important the way we look after people and St Barnabas looked after my mum towards the end. I couldn’t have wished for better care, and this is why I am so glad we are supporting the Hospice.
“Making these wig stands has helped many of our woodturners because they feel a sense of pride that their work is going on to help other people in need.”
Ray added, “It’s a fact that getting involved in something like woodturning focuses the mind and it becomes very calming. Once you learn these type of skills, they are so transferable to other areas of life. Woodturning helps people with mental health problems, it helps people focus and it distracts people from everyday thoughts that might be getting them down.”
The St Barnabas Wig Bank is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Hospice is looking forward to opening this back up, along with their other Day Therapy services, as soon as it is safe to do so.
To find out more about the free services the Hospice provides to people across Lincolnshire living with a life-limiting or terminal illness, as well as to people struggling to cope following a bereavement, visit www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk.