Hours after hearing of the Cougar helicopter tragedy last month, Rachael Bowdridge invited her friends to pray through a Facebook group.
She no longer worked offshore, but because of the eight years she spent on the rigs, she figured she knew someone on the flight.
She soon learned her dear friend John Pelley, a medic from Deer Lake, was a passenger.
"Late that night I sat at the computer. I was pretty much a zombie, pretty numb and I just a drew a ribbon."
She posted her creation - which has the same three colours as a Cougar helicopter - on the Facebook group, which had more than 10,000 members by the time she awoke the next morning.
As that number kept growing - it's now more than 40,000 - members started asking how to get a ribbon.
Colleen Hatcher, a Cougar employee who wanted to do something to help, contacted Bowdridge and offered to make them.
"I was like, 'Sure, by all means. I can't sew, so that would great,'" Bowdridge says.
The ribbon campaign has since exploded and exceeded expectations.
Hatcher has set up another Facebook group dedicated to the ribbons.
People send her a self-addressed envelope and she mails it back to them with a letter and two ribbons.
Hatcher has made more than 400 and has hundreds of orders left to fill.
"I still have envelopes in boxes at home that are waiting to be filled because I ran out of ribbon."
She has purchased whatever ribbon she could find in St. John's and Mount Pearl, had her mother send some from the west coast, and ordered more off the internet.
The families of the crash victims have been supportive, with many wearing the ribbon and some even getting it as a tattoo.
Bowdridge got the ribbon copyrighted and purchased the web domain, cougarflight491.com, so they can eventually take orders online.
She feels the project is offering support to the families and to others who are grieving the 17 who died in the March 12 crash off St. John's.
She says she had no idea the impact the ribbon would have.
"I was pretty out of it when I drew it. I was really upset. ... To see the family members on Facebook and they use the ribbon as their profile picture, it touches my heart in such a way, it's hard to explain."
Hatcher nods in agreement.
"I see people in a grocery store and they might have a ribbon on. It just gives me tremendous pride that I reached that person," she said.
They are a total stranger. I'm looking at them wearing a ribbon that I made in my own home and they have no idea who I am. It's wonderful."
And people want more than just the ribbon.
Offshore workers have requested to have the image as a sticker for their hard hats or to have it stitched into their coveralls.
Others have asked for magnets to stick on the back of cars or to have it plaque-mounted.
"People just want it as different products, pretty much, and I'll do whatever you want. If that's what's going to help you, I want to be able to help you," says Bowdridge, a St. John's student.
Annual event?
Hatcher says she would like to see people wear one every March 12.
But turning the ribbon into stickers or making enough for the thousands to wear one has become a challenge for the women.
They aren't charging for the ribbons and have no plans to accept money until there is a trust fund or other avenue that supports the families of those who were lost on the flight.
Cougar provided some help with supplies, but a lot has come out of Bowdridge and Hatcher's pockets.
They are looking for guidance on how to fund and continue a campaign they don't want to profit from.
"That's what we are looking for now, advice and assistance," Bowdridge says.
sbartlett@thetelegram.com
'It touches my heart'
Colleen Hatcher (left) and Rachael Bowdridge are amazed at the demand for Cougar Helicopters 491 Support Ribbons. Photo by Steve Bartlett/The Telegram
- Published on April 27th, 2009
- Published on July 1st, 2010
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Steve Bartlett
The Telegram
Women overwhelmed by demand for Cougar ribbons; seek advice on how to continue
Hours after hearing of the Cougar helicopter tragedy last month, Rachael Bowdridge invited her friends to pray through a Facebook group.
She no longer worked offshore, but because of the eight years she spent on the rigs, she figured she knew someone on the flight.
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Comments
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- Reality Check
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:21:48
The last 4 sentences in the article sum this up nicely. These two are obviously not looking for the same thing as a certain author was when a certain book was written.
it's things just like this that help us remember. Just look at the symbolic nature of a poppy and what we think of when we wear one. It's nice to look across a crowded room and see a little sparkle of support pinned to a kid's ball cap sometimes.
P.S. Do not buy 'The Book'. -
- Janet
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:21:05
Colleen & Rachael,
I picked up the Telegram today, as My daughter Janet told me there was an article about you guys in it.
You are both angels. I can't get over the kindness you have shown for all of us, who are strangers to you. You are two special people for sure.
Thank you so so much.
Hugs,
Janet Breen -
- Lost
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:13:52
I may be a little slow... but what is 'the book'??
-
- Frank
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:11:09
I think we all need a reality check when it comes to the sensitivity of sorrow and lost. You have touched on the heart srings of many who felt the pain globally for those men and women who were killed tragically, leaving behind loved one's who will never forget.
Book publications are sometimes very cold beneath its hard covers. There is a superficial sense of concrn for those who mourn and may never get over their lost.We know what happened and it does not need to be dratized any more to feed the pockets of others.
The community has payed tribute to their loved ones in a way that noone has ever done so well. I have seen the pictures and read the heart warming poems and comments globally.
What has been published in a book may well be done in good faith, but the timing is very innapropriate ,and as chilling as a stormy winter night. We should all respect the time that families need to let this sad time in their lives heal with time and support from everyone. This healing cannot be found in books for profits.
The media and newspapers have done an excellent job of bringing us close to the family and also giving a honest and caring understanding of what really happened.
Colleen and Rachel have brought us a little more closer to a tragedy that still touches the hearts of many. I would wear one of thiose hallicopter pins with pride.
Frank Blackwood
Newfoundland Writer and Ambassador
Richmond Hill, Ont -
- Reality Check
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:05:40
The last 4 sentences in the article sum this up nicely. These two are obviously not looking for the same thing as a certain author was when a certain book was written.
it's things just like this that help us remember. Just look at the symbolic nature of a poppy and what we think of when we wear one. It's nice to look across a crowded room and see a little sparkle of support pinned to a kid's ball cap sometimes.
P.S. Do not buy 'The Book'. -
- Janet
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:04:21
Colleen & Rachael,
I picked up the Telegram today, as My daughter Janet told me there was an article about you guys in it.
You are both angels. I can't get over the kindness you have shown for all of us, who are strangers to you. You are two special people for sure.
Thank you so so much.
Hugs,
Janet Breen -
- Lost
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:52:22
I may be a little slow... but what is 'the book'??
-
- Frank
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:47:32
I think we all need a reality check when it comes to the sensitivity of sorrow and lost. You have touched on the heart srings of many who felt the pain globally for those men and women who were killed tragically, leaving behind loved one's who will never forget.
Book publications are sometimes very cold beneath its hard covers. There is a superficial sense of concrn for those who mourn and may never get over their lost.We know what happened and it does not need to be dratized any more to feed the pockets of others.
The community has payed tribute to their loved ones in a way that noone has ever done so well. I have seen the pictures and read the heart warming poems and comments globally.
What has been published in a book may well be done in good faith, but the timing is very innapropriate ,and as chilling as a stormy winter night. We should all respect the time that families need to let this sad time in their lives heal with time and support from everyone. This healing cannot be found in books for profits.
The media and newspapers have done an excellent job of bringing us close to the family and also giving a honest and caring understanding of what really happened.
Colleen and Rachel have brought us a little more closer to a tragedy that still touches the hearts of many. I would wear one of thiose hallicopter pins with pride.
Frank Blackwood
Newfoundland Writer and Ambassador
Richmond Hill, Ont
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