Volunteers' Week, running from 3rd to 8th June, celebrates the amazing contributions volunteers make to communities across the UK. It's a chance to recognise, celebrate and thank the UK's incredible volunteers for all they contribute to our local communities, the voluntary sector, and society as a whole. 

Volunteers are essential for Fine Cell Work, and are on the front line of our programmes, delivering our services both inside and outside of prisons. To mark Volunteers' Week, we spoke to some of the amazing individuals who give their time and energy to help deliver our services. In this article, we meet Christine Sweeney, who volunteered with us until earlier this year before heading home to Australia. 

Hi! I'm Christine, from Sydney Australia.

I moved to London in 2019, leaving a corporate career behind, with some goals in mind as part of a reset to explore my creative practice, in textiles, the arts and photography as well as volunteering in social enterprises and green spaces. 

In the early months exploring London, I chanced open the Fine Cell Work pop up shop in Pimlico Road...

The shop was closed, but the branding and stunning pieces in the window were enough to peak my interest. So down the rabbit hole I went, researching the charity. To my delight I discovered that there were in prison volunteering opportunities. 'WOW, this is perfect for me', I thought! I’ve stitched, sewn and knitted most of my life. I have also experienced first hand the power of a skill being learnt in prison via a close family friend, who learnt and excelled at the craft of upholstery and managed to carve out a new life and successful business upon release. This, combined with my family history -- one of my ancestors was transported to Australia over 200 hundred years ago after being sentenced for a crime -- was the serendipity and motivation for me to apply.

Unfortunately there were no suitable opportunities available at the time, so I went on the waiting list and then, unfortunately, Covid hit. During Covid, my stitching, knitting and photography practice thrived. It stretched me, helped me pass the time, the mindfulness of the process was calming and relaxing, and at the same time it gave me a sense of purpose, joy and satisfaction as I stitched and knitted works for myself or to gift to family and friends. 

Christine's knitting and embroidery

Fast forward to 2023, I reapplied to Fine Cell Work and jumped for joy 6 months later when I received an email from Fine Cell Work offering me a place to work supporting stitchers in prison...

The initial interview and training process took at Fine Cell Work and later at the prison with the security and liaison officers was thorough, honest and reassuring, and supplemented with ongoing training and regular check-ins. I was impressed from the start with the depth and quality of information, attention to detail, with safety and care always at the forefront and no question off limits. 

Simultaneously, I also worked at the Fine Cell Work Hub in Battersea, packing kits with a wonderful group of like minded ladies and helping with dispatch in the lead up to Christmas. Having the exposure to the front and back of house operations was enormously helpful and rewarding in understanding and appreciating the many layers that combine to make the Charity function so successfully. Being at the Hub on a regular basis provided the added bonus of working alongside the apprentices, staff and management, be it in design, workshop, marketing or accounts. 

Whilst it was not my first time being in prison, meeting the stitchers for the first time in their education hub, supported by my fellow volunteers, was an inspiring and humbling experience.

The range of ages, personalities, abilities  and motivation for stitching all varied. What was common, however, during each and every session, was the level of enthusiasm, happiness and satisfaction that the men gleaned from their individual practices, supporting, encouraging and learning from one another.  The fun, banter and stories flowed in a safe and welcoming space, sometimes interrupted by many hands on deck as we searched for the rogue needle lost on the floor.

My time at Fine Cell Work was full of amazing highlights. To mention just a few...

• Describing a colour palette of a new kit to a stitcher who told me he was colour blind, with our conversation then moving on to the acoustics at the Sydney Opera House.
• Me watching and learning in fascination at another stitcher's tapestry technique, so quick and efficient and one that I’m yet to perfect.
• A new addition to the group telling me he was motivated by his cell mate, watching him stitch and create for hours on end, seeing the calmness and joy it clearly provided and wanting to give it a go. And he took to it like a duck to water, preferring tapestry over embroidery.
• Chatting about design and colour theory with a stitcher, which led to a cat with blue eyes and a red collar being added to an already stunning one off Cottage Cushion.
• Working with two stitchers on a commission piece for an artist and seeing the pieces grow over the months, along with their confidence. 
• Helping a soon to be released stitcher who has been accepted as an apprentice at the Fine Cell Work's post-release programme, Open The Gate, complete his survey. In response to the question "what do you hope to achieve from your stitching practice?" His reply was "being good as an apprentice and I never want to come back here."

I remember talking passionately about my first experience in prison with the stitchers with my family and friends, fellow volunteers and staff at Fine Cell Work and that hasn’t stopped.

Everything about the charity resonates for me and I am grateful for the opportunity.  The success of the charity is measured in many ways, but for me the most important is the opportunity it provides for the stitchers to learn and grow a skill set in a safe and welcoming place, where they feel valued, respected and heard; a skill set they can rely upon forever. 

If I had to pick a favourite Fine Cell Work product...

...it would have to be the Geometric design. It's the staple of Fine Cell Work, starting the new stitchers on their journey whilst giving them creative license and confidence. The colour, vibrancy and variety of items which are available to buy, make the range suitable for any budget. 

To see some of Christine's photography, follow her on Instagram here.