Navigation path

  • print this page
  • Decrease font-size
  • Increase font-size
  • Choose high contrast version
  • Choose standard colour version

The Knitting Bus

Ireland

Ireland / Baile Átha Cliath(Ireland)

The Knitting Bus

Third Age’s "Knitting the Generations Together" project was launched by President Mary McAleese on 21 September 2011 in Dublin. The aim of the initiative is to promote contact between generations through primary school involvement, by teaching children to knit, and raise awareness in schools and local communities of the value of older people. The Knitting Bus Project served as Third Age Ireland’s curtain-raiser to the European Year 2012.

Knitting is one of the skills which older people have traditionally passed on to younger generations. Third Age already had an established Trauma Teddy knitting project in which Third Age members taught knitting to children at a local primary school. They knitted soft toy teddy bears which were carried by ambulance services for children going to hospital.

In the Knitting Bus project, primary schools throughout Ireland were invited to knit for Third Age. Schools had access to the Trauma Teddy stuffed toy pattern, and other knitting patterns specially created by Irish designer Aideen Bodkin. Beginning in September 2011 and involving over 100 schools, the project culminated later in the academic year with an exhibition and sale of the children's work as well as other relevant arts and crafts to raise money for charity. Schools also used their own contacts to reach out to older people - through active retirement associations, women’s clubs, Irish Countrywomen’s Associations and others, which Third Age supported with promotional literature and information packs.

To publicize the project and visit a number of schools during the academic year, Third Age had acquired a double decker bus which not only served to “knit generations together”, but also helped spread awareness of the European Year 2012.

 
Promoter: Third Age Ireland

Third Age promotes the value of older people as volunteers in innovative programmes in communities throughout Ireland and also promotes the third age in life as a positive life stage in which older people continue to contribute as parents, grandparents, friends, neighbours, volunteers and community activists.

 
Website: http://www.thirdageireland.ie/fundraising/39/knitting-bus/
 
Contact: Anne Dempsey: annedempsey@eircom.net

Footer