Seniors washing away breast cancer

Ninety-four-year-old Pauline Nadjiwan remembers well when her grandmother taught her to knit as a child. The mittens she created back then turned out to be two different sizes, but she wore them anyway.

It's a hobby that's lasted her a lifetime. Due to her advanced age, she has to do her housework in 15-minute increments these days before sitting down for a rest. During these quiet moments, she often works on a knitting project.

Nadjiwan recently started putting her skills to good use, knitting dishcloths for Angels in Pink's Wash Away Breast Cancer fundraiser.

Angels in Pink, which raises money for the Northern Cancer Foundation's Breast Cancer Equipment Fund, is looking for donations of knitted and crocheted dishcloths, which in turn are being sold to the public for $5 each.

Nadjiwan, whose husband Sam had cancer before he passed away 18 years ago, said it's a cause close to her heart. “If there's any way you can help, that's the only way to go,” she said.

The senior is part of an army of older Sudburians who have stepped up to donate dishcloths.

Angels in Pink member Janna Reid said she thinks they've already collected about 2,000 dishcloths. She said they're great for washing dishes, as their loose weave ensures they rinse out really well.

Many of the donations have come about because of the efforts of Noreen Davidson and her daughter, Donna Slobodian.

Reid said she phoned up Davidson, who is involved with the Lockerby Legion, and asked if she knew anybody who knows how to knit or crochet.

Davidson enlisted her Legion friends to work on the project.
But she didn't stop there. Davidson then asked her daughter — a local hairdresser — to see if she could get the seniors at Finlandia on board, where she cuts residents' hair.

Between them, these two groups of seniors have already donated about 800 dishcloths.

“These ladies, they don't know us from Jack,” Reid said. “They just said, 'Oh OK.' They took this under their wing and they flew.”

Davidson said she thinks what her members and the other knitters are doing is “wonderful.”

“They are so good to help people,” she said. “When I brought that up at our meeting, before I knew it, they were handing in dishcloths like you wouldn't believe. They don't ask for the money for the wool or cotton.”

Anybody interested in donating or purchasing dishcloths are asked to email Reid at [email protected] or phone Angels in Pink founder Annette Cressy at 560-5983.