#StandUpForEarlyYears: Nursery makes face masks to raise money for cancer charity

The red gingham face masks, which match the aprons worn by the nursery team, have been handmade by Snapdragons’ inclusion manager, Alison Shires, who designed them following the news that her colleague, Charlotte Chivers, the nursery chef, had been diagnosed with cancer.

Ms Chilvers faces an operation, chemotherapy and radiotherapy at Royal United Hospital, Bath, and has asked for the money raised to go to Bath Cancer Unit Support Group to thank them for their care.

Ms Shires, who has also made scrubs for the NHS during lockdown, said, ‘Each mask will raise £5 for the charity. It’s a pleasure to make them for such a good cause. My sewing machine has never been so busy and thank you to Boris Johnson for making them so popular.’

Ms Chivers, who is shielding at home with her two sons before the operation, said, ‘I’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness I’ve received from my friends at nursery, including all the children and parents. The team at Atworth is like an extended family and I feel so lucky to have their support. I know we’ll get through this together.’

Snapdragons Nursery in Atworth is part of Snapdragons Nurseries, a group of 10 nurseries in Bath, Bristol and Wiltshire offering a total of nearly 1,500 places. The Atworth nursery was the first in the group when it was started 22 years ago in a Wiltshire farmhouse, which was then the home of Snapdragons’ founders, Rosemary and Paul Collard.