EASTER CHICK APPEAL – 2021 COVID UPDATE

Due to the closure of schools and businesses, we have made the decision to scale back the Easter Chick Appeal this year. Most of our chicks are sold in schools and offices, and without any certainty regarding their reopening, we cannot be sure of selling the quantity we usually receive.

For that reason, we are not currently appealing for donations of knitted chicks. We already have a large quantity of leftover chicks in storage because of the disruption to last year’s appeal. Our aim will be to fill and sell these wherever we can.

If you have already started knitting, we are happy to accept your chicks and store them till next year. However, we would not have the storage space to hold the quantities we normally receive.

There are still ways you can support this year’s campaign – read on to find out more…

Sacks of knitted chicks arrive at Francis House

About the Easter Chick Knit Appeal

Join in our annual appeal, in which thousands of knitted Easter chicks filled with a Creme Egg are sold to raise funds for Francis House.

Every year, thousands of little woolly chicks and bunnies flock into Francis House, knitted by crafty supporters from across the world.

The chicks are filled with a donated chocolate egg each and sold in schools, stores and businesses all across Greater Manchester to raise funds for the hospice.

Have a question about the appeal? Email rachel.astill@francishouse.org.uk or call 0161 443 2200

Last Year

Thanks to a terrific effort by knitters up and down the country, we received a whopping total of more than 53,000 knitted chicks and bunnies in 2020 - a new record! The incredible generosity of the public meant tens of thousands of Creme Eggs were donated, and we were assisted by fantastic volunteers to repair, sort, fill and deliver the chicks. Although our fundraising total was significantly impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak, over £30,000 was raised and we would like to thank everyone involved for making the appeal a great success, even in the most challenging of circumstances.

Want to get involved?

Knit or crochet for us

Please note we are not appealing for donations of knitted chicks this Easter (see top of page). However feel free to get started early for 2022!

This year we are encouraging supporters to knit and fill chicks or bunnies to sell to friends, family, neighbours etc (where safe to do so) and send in the funds raised.

Put your needles to work and knit up as many little chicks as you can manage. Chicks can be as colourful as you please: the quirkier, the better! We also have a crochet pattern you can follow. Feel free to get creative and customise your chicks with knitted hats, scarves and accessories. However, simple traditional chicks are very popular too!

Scroll down to find the patterns.

Ladies knitting Easter chicks for Francis House

Donate or collect creme eggs for us

Although we are not appealing for donations of chicks this year, we do still need Creme Eggs to fill the thousands of empty chicks leftover from last year. Please help if you can!

Every chick we receive needs pairing with a chocolate egg (Cadbury’s Creme Egg sized).

Help us source the thousands we need by posting in a box or two (you can do this easily via our Amazon Wishlist) or by making a donation towards the cost of the eggs.

Sell

We are always looking for more venues to take an order of chicks to sell. Schools, nurseries, offices or shops are normally great selling points. If you know of somewhere suitable that will be open for business leading up to Easter, please let us know. We will supply as many chicks (or bunnies) as required, along with collection tubs and posters.

Volunteer

Egg stuffing Filling 50,000 plus chicks with a Creme Egg each can be very time-consuming for our small fundraising team. We need volunteers to fill chicks with eggs and count out orders in the run up to Easter. This year we are unable to run our volunteer ‘stuffing sessions’ but would welcome the help of local supporters who would be willing to fill our chicks from the comfort of their own home! Please get in touch if you can help.