After a three-week marathon of packing bags, preparing courier boxes, and coordinating deliveries, Haslemere resident  - Dianne Bennett - announced that the Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire Bliss Knitters have achieved their biggest festive donation yet. Dianne is a community hero and you may recall she was the force behind ensuring the Haslemere Charities Fair took place in November 2025. 

Thanks to the dedication of dozens of volunteer knitters and drivers, the group's woolly gifts reached sick and premature babies on 68 neonatal units, their widest distribution in 38 years.

This year’s efforts included an extraordinary 1,446 Christmas stockings, surpassing last year’s record of 1,404, as well as blankets, cardigans, hand knitted teddys, and a festive red hat for babies spending the festive season in hospital.

Dianne said: “I’m a bit tired from lugging 50 plus courier boxes around, but absolutely thrilled that we continue to make Christmas that little bit brighter for so many families.”

Caroline Lee-Davey, chief executive of Bliss, said: “Since 1988, Dianne has coordinated a network of knitters who produce beautiful keepsakes for families with a baby born premature or sick. A stay in neonatal care can feel especially isolating during the festive season. This incredible act of kindness from Dianne and all the volunteers she leads helps families know they’re not alone, while raising awareness of the support Bliss provides.”

As Dianne begins her well-earned Christmas break, her milestone birthday year will be remembered not only for celebration, but for the thousands of families with sick or premature babies who’ve been touch by her incredible efforts in the past four decades.

If you'd like to volunteer for this amazing community knitting project, please message This is Haslemere and we will connect you with Dianne.

Pictured with BLISS stockings: Dianne Bennett (left), Susan Harris (centre - a BLISS supporter for 40 years), Margaret Yates.

Read more about BLISS here, for babies born premature or sick.