On Wednesday 1 July, nine women from a Genesis Community-funded knitting group called the Knitty Noras held a knitting workshop with eight- and nine-year-olds at Scotts Primary School in Hornchurch, Essex. Genesis Community is part of Genesis Housing Group.

The Knitty Noras showed the children some of their work, including premature baby clothes for a local hospital, and blankets and hats which have been sent to Africa. They were then were interviewed by Year Six children for the school newspaper, explaining who the Knitty Noras are, and shared experiences about their own school days. During a tour of the school they had the opportunity to find out about the vegetable garden, Aboriginal art and attend French lessons.

The Knitty Noras is a network of 100-plus women and men who live at a variety of Springboard Housing Association schemes (also part of Genesis Housing Group), across East London and Essex. They were established in July 2007 by Sylvia Fox (83) and Lily Harris (92) and have always been interested in new projects. Knitting is enjoying a big revival in Britain and children and young people are getting involved.

The visit was a pilot, and formed part of Genesis Community's inter-generational project. The aim of this project is to integrate older and younger people in activities together and help them understand the different environments they live in, why it is important to learn from each others' experiences, and to exchange skills from one generation to another.

The positive feedback the Knitty Noras received has encouraged them to try and replicate the workshops in other schools across East London and Essex. They are now keen to create Knitty Noras Juniors.

Knitty Nora, Frances Sullivan (94) said "I wanted to pass my hobby on to someone else in the hope they will get as much enjoyment out of it as I have. The children were enthusiastic and keen to learn our craft - the opportunity to teach them was an absolute privilege. I hope we can visit them again and maybe they can teach us something new!"

Simon Abeledo, Headteacher at Scotts Primary School, was impressed with the success of the workshop. He said "As a school, we are anxious to become more involved in community projects as we believe that although there may be large generation gaps, each generation can learn from one another. I know that we have some children in that class who find it difficult to communicate with peers and others, and would not consider knitting. Yet there they were, giving grand tours of the school, chatting away and learning new skills."

Picture caption: Doll Edwards (88 on Wed 9 July) and Luke Barker (9)

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For further information on Genesis Housing Group, please contact Diana Evans, press officer, on: 020 7563 0028 / diana.evans@ghg.org.uk

Genesis Community was set up in 2005 by Genesis Housing Group. It is a charitable foundation created to fulfil Genesis Housing Group's commitments to address the challenges of deprivation and social exclusion in disadvantaged areas. Projects delivered by Genesis Community focus on the key themes of young people, vulnerable and elderly people, safer communities, financial inclusion and training and employment.

Genesis Housing Group is a social investment business. It provides homes and services, supporting customers and communities to build futures. Genesis provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east of England. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads, Springboard and St Matthew housing associations. Genesis also has in its group a charitable foundation, Genesis Community. It is one of the largest and most diverse housing groups in the UK, owning and/or managing more than 40,000 homes. Its overriding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

The Knitty Noras have, with funding from Genesis Community, helped break the world record for the largest knitted Christmas stocking in 2007, while raising money for The Children's Society. The giant knitted Christmas stocking was filled with gifts for disadvantaged children throughout England.

They also sell blankets to raise money for hospital equipment and have successfully secured further funding to continue their work.

The group has been so successful it grew from three to over 75 members in just four months. They are all residents of Springboard Housing Association, part of Genesis Housing Group.