Aaron Fraser of Southwick cuts fabric and watches as her daughter Willow helps her mother Joy Newhouse of Westfield sew a Joey pouch to send to Australia. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
SOUTHWICK – News media around the globe are reporting that a billion animals have died in the bushfires in Australia, and millions of animals continue to be rescued and need care.
Southwick resident Aaron Fraser and her mother Joy Newhouse, of Westfield, wanted to help somehow. Without thousands of dollars to send to rescue organizations, Fraser sought other ways to contribute and came across a group organizing fabric pouch donations.
Called “Joey Pouches” after baby kangaroos, the purse-like bags can be worn by a human or slung from a wooden frame. They mimic kangaroo and other marsupial pouches where the adult animals carry their young until they can fend for themselves. Babies rescued from the fires are placed in the pouches to bring comfort while they are being treated.
Fraser is working with the Animal Rescue Craft Guild and its northeastern subgroup based in Maine. She said she found other groups collecting pouches as well, but she liked the Guild because it is well organized.
“They are collecting pouches that are made very specifically to meet the needs of the rescue group in Australia,” said Fraser. “And they sort and store them in Maine and send what they need, so they don’t inundate the rescue group all at once.”
Fraser and Newhouse began making Joey Pouches last week. The first day was spent making sure they met the dimensions and fabrics required by the Australian rescue organization.
Willow Fraser, 5, of Southwick, models one of the Joey pouches her grandmother and mother will donate to rescue efforts in Australia. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
“They have two sizes, one for kangaroo babies and one for wallaby babies,” said Fraser. “And the lining needs to be soft, 100 percent cotton. They said to think about what fabric you’d want your baby to have on their skin.”
Fraser said her mother is the one who sews while she cuts the fabric.
Newhouse said she has always sewed, but lost touch with her skills for a while.
“I’ve sewed since I was a little girl,” she said. “I made all of Aaron’s clothes when she was little.”
Life and work got in the way of her sewing, but she recently began sewing for the Angel Babies group, which makes funeral gowns for babies.
Newhouse said she is working on her sewing skills again and enjoyed making the Joey pouches.
“It was a bit of trial and error, but now that we’ve got it down, we are flying through them,” said Newhouse.
The duo are also sewing liners that can be used in tote bags. Fraser said the rescue teams have bags similar to a tote-style purse that they line with cotton liners and put the babies in them.
“The liners are essentially like a cloth diaper and need to be changed often,” Fraser said.
The Guild has patterns for pouches, liners and other items that can be crocheted or knit.
The women said they are happy they found a way to help and encourage others who can sew, knit or crochet to visit the Animal Rescue Craft Guild website to find a way to contribute.
Newhouse said she has a difficult time watching the news.
“It’s terrible,” she said, “I can’t watch anymore.”
Fraser said there are Facebook groups organizing efforts to collect Joey pouches that include posts on dimensions to create patterns. Visit the Animal Rescue Craft Guild Facebook page for more information.
