Charity champs are nominated for award

A trio of Old Glossop mask-makers who hit our headlines in the summer could be in line for a national award.

Despite living in Derbyshire, Barbara Ackley, Hayley Downs and Clare Lawrence are representing Stagecoach Yorkshire in the bus company’s national Community Hero competition.

The three women have already won a £75 Love2Shop voucher and are now competing with 19 other regional winners in the final.

As we reported at the time, they made thousands of masks and raised thousands of pounds. They recently donated £1,000 to Glossop-based charity Reuben’s Retreat.

They expected to raise around £100 from selling their handmade face masks, but sold more than 2,000, raising more than £5,000 for the NHS. 

Crafters Hayley and Clare cut the material into shapes and Barbara sewed  them into masks. 

Operating under their slogan ‘Teamwork is Dreamwork,’ they set up a stall outside the Lodge in Bute Street, close to where they all live and were there every day selling the cloth masks.

Stagecoach was urging its passengers to nominate their local community heroes as part of the bus operator’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

Nominations closed last month, but voting to get a winner is still on.

To vote for Hayley, Clare and Barbara go to www.stagecoachbus.com and search for the Stagecoach Community Hero competition and fill in the on-line box.

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FLASHBACK: Old Glossop’s mask-makers making another batch of face coverings in July.