Colourful kitchen hats for Enliven staff

Josie (left) and younger sister Tia making washable kitchen hats.


While many sewing machines around the country are making face masks, there is one making coverings of a different sort.

Twelve-year-old Josie and her younger sister Tia are helping to make washable cloth hats for staff at Enliven homes to wear in the kitchens.

Josie’s mum Marion is Enliven’s Hospitality Coordinator.

“When Josie heard we wanted to provide more washable hats to kitchen staff in our homes, she offered to help,” Marion says.

Josie looks after sewing the hats and her younger sister Tia helps by threading the elastic through.

The sisters aim to make about 250 of the hats from a range of fabrics with fun and different patterns to be distributed around Enliven’s homes.

Anyone who goes into a kitchen in an Enliven home is required to cover their hair for hygiene purposes, so a lot of the caps are required.

Enliven’s Brightwater Home in Palmerston North was already using washable hats in the kitchen following a sustainability initiative spearheaded by the home’s Food Services Team Leader Lola Logan.

“I was able to borrow one of the hats off Lola so Josie could have a pattern to work off,” says Marion.

Other sustainability initiatives that have been implemented at Enliven homes include re-using old bread bags for kitchen items and saving brown paper grocery bags to use as bin liners.

Disposable paper cups that were at water fountains have been replaced with washable ones and some of the homes have increased their recycling efforts.

Brightwater Home and Village is operated by Enliven, part of the not-for-profit organisation Presbyterian Support Central. It offers independent retirement living, hospital, dementia, health recovery and palliative care. To learn more, visit www.enlivencentral.org.nz or call 06 356 4190.


Up next

View all

Romika’s Nursing Journey

Champion for Māori Health

Kandahar Village resident Pam on how downsizing worked for her

Downsizing can be a challenge, but it’s one that comes with plenty of rewards says Kandahar Village resident Pam Palmer.