
Help grow the Hands on Hearts giant bunting chain!
Donation protected
Hi
My name is Helen and I'm raising money to grow a grassroots crafts project I'm developing with other volunteers, called Hands on Hearts.
It helps communities to see and experience their spirit and strength and all what we can achieve when we support each other...

Me with Ann, a project supporter (I'm the one on the right!).
You can see a wealth of photos showing the joy that the project brings on our website:
Read on for more on the background to the project its impact.
Or if you want to go straight to a breakdown of costs then you can scroll to the bottom.
About Hands on Hearts
Myself and other volunteers deliver free workshops to help groups make giant bunting chains of hands and hearts, using upcycled material wherever possible.
Each flag is individually made and each one tells the maker's story.
Together they make for a beautiful display of unity and connection.

Elders who made the project's first chain enjoy the bunting at a community garden
People seem to really love the project and it is designed so that you can take part whether you think of yourself as creative or not.
We now want to grow the project to start new chains in other regions (and countries!).
Your donation will help make that happen.
How Hands on Hearts began...
The project began during the lockdown Summer of 2020, when I worked with staff at the Calthorpe Community Garden in Camden to help older people who were shielding and so unable to come to the gardens to stay connected with the community they so dearly missed.
The older people lovingly worked on their flags during that very tough Winter of 2020 and other staff and members of the community then added their own flags to the chain, and so it began to grow...
As the world began to open up in the Spring of 2021 we gathered to hang the chains, which are still on display in the garden today for all to enjoy...

Mila with volunteers Isabel and Marie Jose hanging the first chains at Calthorpe Community Gardens, May 2021
I then worked with neighbouring community centres and at a womens hostel to help them create their own chains.

Beginnings of a bunting flag made at The Sanctuary (part of the women's hostel the Marylebone Project). April 2022
Children from the After School

As we approached another Winter of navigating the pandemic in 2021, staff at Holborn Community Association in London's Bloomsbury district supported me to hold a workshop as a part of their Fun Palace activities...

Families making flags at Holborn Community Association, October 2021
This girl was very chuffed with her flag!

Fun Palace Day at Holborn Community Association, October 2021
Chains have also been displayed at a DIY shop on a highstreet in Bloomsbury in London...

Lola, one of our dedicated volunteers, at John's DIY shop in Marchmont Street, November 2021

Me at John's DIY shop, November 2021
And people who are not part of the group but love the project have worked on their own flags from home which have been added to a supporters chain.

A chain on display in Italy! (I took an example to show people while on holiday there).
Growing Hands on Hearts...
Since the Spring of 2022 I have had to put this project on pause due to health problems.
But early in the Summer of 2023, Hands on Hearts was given new life when Afghan refugees who came to London after fleeing the Taliban were inspired by the chains hanging in the Calthorpe's gardens.
Supported by a women's charity (Hopskotch), they gathered each week at the Calthorpe to make their flags, and continued work on their creations in the nearby hotels they are temporarily housed in with their families.
In June last year, their beautiful flags were brought together and proudly displayed at The British Library (pictures to follow).

Me with Mila and the Hopskotch team at the British Library, June 2023
The Afghan women's enthusiasm for the project and the beautiful flags they created helped give me new energy to restart the project, and so it was brought back to life.
I am now working to bring Hands on Hearts to other groups in Camden in north London and Lambeth in south London.
I am also making plans to get chains going in other parts of the country and abroad (I'm about to send a workshop starter pack to a teacher who will start a chain with her students in rural Japan!).
Last September, I returned to the Calthorpe, to help start a new chain as a part of their participation in the Camden wide River of Hope festival - we had a great day!

Workshop participants at Calthorpe Community Gardens, September 2023
Growing the chain...
Over the Winter I worked with a project offering warm spaces and healthy hot food on a housing estate in Camden.
We have been working on a chains to hang in tenants' shared spaces.

We also hope to create enough bunting to hang in a central part of the estate - Lismore Circus - over the Summer.
So we're going to need a LOT of rope!

Lismore Circus on the West Kentish Town estate (we're planning on hanging bunting between the trees).
More chains in the pipeline...
Charities I've been working with environmental charity Global Generation in Somerstown and a Get Rid of It and Donate (an upcycling charity) in Lambeth
Schools I've been working with a parents wellbeing group at a local primary school (Rhyl Community School) and will soon hold a workshop with a school for children with learning disabilities in Lambeth
GP surgery I am due to start working with a GP surgery in Kentish Town, so that patients and staff can make their own chain.
I also have plans to work with a homeschoolers project and an almshouse.
I am working towards holding an exhibition of all the work created in London over the Winter, and if we are successful in creating enough bunting this year myself and other project volunteers hope to hold a larger exhibition in Spring 2025.
I really believe that together we can gather and connect to make something truly beautiful!
How Hands on Hearts helps...
People say they really love the project.
Whether they are taking part in a workshop or simply looking at the chains hung up, people tell me it gives them a sense that we are stronger together.
- Accessible The project is designed to be accessible no matter your age or ability. People can draw or use glue if they don't want to sew, but if anyone does want to try out sewing workshop facilitators can teach them basic skills.
- Therepeutic Many participants talk about the therapeutic benefit from gathering together to sew and make.
- Joyful There is always a lovely positive atmosphere (hopefully the photos myself and other volunteers have taken show that!).
- Unity My hope is that the chains can help people to see and experience what we can achieve when we pull together and support each other.
- Joy! Above all, whether you are taking part or simply looking at the chain, I feel like it brings people joy.
And gathering together to share and connect seems to me more necessary than ever during these challenging times, and in particular as people struggle with the cost of living crisis.
Why I need funds...
Up until now I have self funded this project - and I have received a LOT of support from people - business owners, people from the charity world, fellow volunteers and last but by no means least friends and family.
Volunteers have helped me prepare and run workshops, shopkeepers have donated materials and given me storage space, couriers have helped me transport materials and consultants who have drawn on their expertise to give me advice.
The support that's been given to the project with in these in kind donations has been incredible!
But in order to grow it I now need more substantial funding.
I am in the process of applying for grants, but this takes time and I can't guarantee I'll be successful.
So in the meantime I need to raise enough money to support groups in the coming months to ensure the project can reach as many people as possible.
Breakdown of costs
Although it is easy to get donations of unwanted fabric in order to keep the project going for the next six months and to grow it I need to buy or pay for:
- a LOT of rope! I plan to source it from this supplier which operates out of Perseverance Mills in Wakefield (the name feels fitting as the co-ordinating the project has required a bit of gumption at points!).
- Materials Fabric pens & paint, fabric glue fabric scissors and embroidery hoops
- Postage costs (for workshop starter packs to groups in other regions and countries).
- Learning pack In order to help people and organisations run their own workshops wherever they are, I'm creating an instruction manual and video. This package will help the project grow in both the UK and other countries.
In addition I have these additional fixed costs which I've committed to self fund until the end of 2024:
Website hosting fees (£10 pcm)
Mobile phone contract (I need this to make the project accessible for people who don't find it easy to email) (£10pcm).
Update: Out of the money raised so far, we've been able to buy a sewing machine! (for £130).
Taking care of your donation
I have a lot of experience with project based work for charities, including fundraising, built up over 13 years of committing my time to volunteering for the third sector.
In that time I have seen money spent well and not so well and am committed to ensuring that all donations are ring fenced and that I keep to my word and spend the money wisely.
- I will very gratefully receive any amount you are able to donate - even £1 will go a long way!
- I will treat your donation with respect and all donations will go into a new bank account I have created which will only be used for the project
Managing & ringfencing funds
I have arranged for a long time supporter of the project (a consultant who advises start ups) to help oversee my budget.
I can provide more details on that arrangement upon request.
About me
I have a lot of experience as a volunteer, having volunteered for various charities and social enterprises over the past 13 years.
I began my career as a journalist and have also worked as a medical secretary for the NHS. I am now interested in working with communities and in particular communities in economically deprived areas to create art from the heart.
You can see more about my background on my LinkedIn profile.
If you are not able to donate money but would like to donate material or offer your support in another way then I would love to hear from you.
You can contact me at ourhandsonhearts at gmail dot com , or text or Whatsapp me on:
07939 396067
If you would like to find out more about Hands on Hearts please don't hesitate to get in touch :)
Thank you for reading to the end!
Best wishes,
Helen

ps please follow us on Instagram to find out how we grow...
Organizer

Helen McCormack
Organizer