Smoothie brand innocent calls on knitters to raise funds for OAPs struggling to heat their homes this winter
KNITTERS are needed to help a charity fundraising campaign for the elderly struggling to afford heating this winter.
The call for volunteers comes from smoothie brand innocent and Age UK to meet a target of 1.4million mini hats.
For every little creation put on one of its bottles sold, innocent will donate 30p to Age UK to help OAPs who are struggling to pay their heating bills this winter.
The small knitted hats need to be sent to Age UK by July 1, 2025.
They will appear on top of innocent smoothie bottles in shops from October 2025.
But the charity has revealed they’re struggling with a shortage of knitters.
One of the issues has been the closure of community groups during the Covid pandemic, some of which failed to reopen.
Voluntees Marjory Needham, 91, faced such a challenge when the centre where she used to run weekly knitting sessions was closed down.
But she managed to hold a small group together and still knits the tiny hats – as she has done since 2009.
Popular drinks brand innocent and Age UK are now urging people to knit more in a bid to reach their target of £500,000.
Charity boss Hannorah Lee said: “The Big Knit is a wonderful way to bring communities together while raising funds to support older people in need.”
Charlotte Wright, Brand Manager at innocent drinks UK, said: “The Big Knit is an amazing campaign that gets people throughout the country knitting, crocheting and buying little hats on smoothies for a cause that truly matters.
“We are so excited that the Big Knit is back, and we will be continuing our long-standing partnership with Age UK to help support older people as much as possible.”
Since 2003 the Big Knit initiative has raised more than £3.2million.
Meanwhile, Latest Age UK figures show 1.9million older people live in poverty, struggling to afford to eat and heat.
And 37 per cent fear the impact cutting down on energy use will have on their health.