OUR STORY
In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic struck and life changed dramatically. Lockdowns were enforced, many people were furloughed and parents juggled work with home-schooling.
Making Masks for the NHS
Sew Positive’s founder Melissa Santiago-Val and her friend Jane Horwood decided to bring a positive to a demanding situation. Jane suggested that they could make face masks and sell them to raise funds for NHS Charities Together. They started the CommunityMasks4NHS initiative and set up a JustGiving page. It quickly became bigger than them. Within a week they had received £2000 worth of orders.
Melissa and Jane started to recruit volunteers to help them, and eventually had a community of 50 people sewing. Many others volunteered to cut and iron materials and deliver parcels. Companies donated materials and put in corporate orders for masks. In total the community group made over 14,000 masks and raised more than £40,000 for NHS Charities Together.
A New & Unique Charity
For Melissa, the mask project gave her purpose during a hard time and it spurred further thinking. Could this become more than a project? Could she replicate this in some way to help others? Over the summer of 2020, the idea for Sew Positive was born and the first sewing workshops took place.
After much hard work, in December 2020 Sew Positive became an officially registered charity, with Melissa as CEO and support from Jane, who joined the original trustee board. Jane now runs Trash Chic, supporting a sustainable and circular economy with preloved, vintage and retro style clothing.
Sew Positive’s mission is to provide opportunities for vulnerable people to nurture their mental health through free sewing workshops and courses, helping people to feel part of a community and reducing the feeling of social exclusion.
COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS
We are members of a variety of organisations, including…
Melissa Santiago-Val
CEO & Founder
Melissa Santiago-Val founded Sew Positive after making masks to support the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. For her, sewing and creativity has been a way of managing anxiety and depression, and through Sew Positive, she shares the tools she has learned with others. Melissa runs the charity and leads many of the sewing workshops and courses. She brings with her 25 years’ experience in charitable, education and B2B marketing.
Melissa Santiago-Val
CEO & FounderMelissa Santiago-Val founded Sew Positive after making masks to support the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. For her, sewing and creativity has been a way of managing anxiety and depression, and through Sew Positive, she shares the tools she has learned with others. Melissa runs the charity and leads many of the sewing workshops and courses. She brings with her 25 years’ experience in charitable, education and B2B marketing.
Sarah McManus
Chair of TrusteesSarah has over 25 years’ senior leadership experience across Health and Social Care, including as Hospital Director (East) for SpaMedica and Head of Implementation for Vita Health Groups NHS mental health services. She also led The Papworth Trust’s Care and Employment Services across the East of England. Sarah’s passion lies in supporting others to have better futures. Her background is in developing and executing strategies that deliver services with sustainable outcomes for participants.
Judi Coe
TrusteeJudi is a communications expert, having worked as a journalist, PR consultant, copywriter and editor. She was the founding editor of the Cambridge Network website, a role she carried out for 20+ years. She is helping Sew Positive to convey its mission and key messages to a wider audience.
Alex Collis
TrusteeAlex has over 10 years’ experience of working in community development and setting up volunteer-led projects, particularly in the area of food justice. During COVID, she headed up delivery of the city’s emergency food provision. She was also a city councillor, heading up work on wellbeing, food justice and sustainable food, and open spaces. She works as a Humanist celebrant, leading non-religious funerals, weddings and naming ceremonies and is also a qualified pastoral carer, volunteering as a hospice chaplain.
Dennis Harhalakis
TreasurerDennis is a Certified Money Coach (CMC)® and runs Cambridge Money Coaching. He has also been Treasurer for the Stephen Perse Foundation PFA. He works with people to help them reduce anxiety, make better decisions, and have a healthy relationship with money. He runs financial wellbeing workshops and seminars and works with financial professionals to help them understand client money behaviour.
Alison Heron
TrusteeAlison has specialised in employer brand, recruitment marketing and talent acquisition, with international organisations including KPMG and GSK. She was a Board Director and is now a Fellow of the Institute of Student Employers. Alison supports Sew Positive with branding and marketing activities.
Karin Read
TrusteeKarin specialises in knowledge and engagement of the local voluntary and statutory sector, currently working at Care Network Cambridgeshire. She also has a background in costume design and believes in the positive power of sewing – this combined with her running hobby led her to raise funds for Sew Positive in the Manchester Marathon in 2021.
Jane Webber
TrusteeJane is a former Sales and Marketing Director for several well-known technology companies in the UK and Europe. She retrained as a nutritionist in 2018 and now helps midlife women make informed decisions about their eating and lifestyle habits. Jane has held several volunteer positions over the years and is passionate about helping others.