Allied Bakeries support Francis House Chick Knit

Stockport’s generous residents and business community have once again come out in support of Francis House Chick Knit Appeal and is on target to beat the 40,000 knitted chicks it received last year for its Easter Chick Knit appeal.

Last year, the chick knit raised £50,000 for the Children’s Hospice in Didsbury that provides a home-from-home environment to the families of children with life-limiting conditions.

Sacks of chicks have been arriving in the run up to Easter from across Greater Manchester (and the globe), each woolly creation is filled with a small creme egg size chocolate egg, donated in their tens of thousands by schools, supermarkets and local businesses, and the cute chicks are sold across the region for £1.

Allied Bakeries delivered 600 eggs for Francis House Chick knits and 60 loaves of bread for the hospice

Rachel Astill, fundraising officer at Francis House said: 

From its beginnings as a chick knit by our hospice volunteers, and through the hard work of our supporters and the wider knitting community, the Francis House Chick Knit has become a much-loved annual, Easter appeal with a fantastic feel-good factor.

Every single chick knitted and every egg donated, really makes a big difference to us.

More than 740 knitters have taken part, including groups of knitters and crafters.

Women’s Institutes from Romiley, Cale Green and Woodford rallied their members by knitting and selling chicks.

 Stockport Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club collected hundreds of eggs.

 Denton-based Francis Kirk Group, which celebrates 150^th anniversary this year, is backing Francis House and loaned a driver and van for a day to deliver two thousands chicks to be sold in six schools in Stockport.

Candy Crafts Club in Timperley, knitted a whopping 1,040 chicks, while a knitter in Western Australia sent 1,084.

Laure Chambers, 80, originally from Hulme, now living in Western Australia sent the chicks 9,000 miles from her home in Perth.                        

Laure’s sisters-in-law Lillian Haughton and Jennifer Walker, from Cheadle Hulme, finished off the chicks with stuffing, beaks, eyes and bows before taking them to Francis House.

For every chick knitted a Cadbury creme sized egg is needed to fill it.

The Co-op store Heaton Moor Road donated 692 and Stockport’s Allied Bakeries dropped off 600 along with 60 loaves of bread for the hospice.

Schools, businesses and shops have pledged to sell the chicks, including Hazel Grove Primary School, who have taken 750 to sell.

The money raised will help towards the long term running costs of the hospice, currently at more than £12,900 a day. 

Anyone wanting to find out more about Francis House, there is a public open day at the hospice on Monday April 23.  For more information call 0161 443 2200. 

Picture credits to Francis House