News

For Chris, ice hockey has been a huge part of his life for 24 years. Having first discovered the sport whilst growing up in the United Arab Emirates, Chris has spent much of his life playing ice hockey and enjoying the friendships and team spirit that come with it.

However, following a kidney transplant in May 2025, Chris faced the possibility of never being able to play the sport he loved again.

At the age of 30, Chris was diagnosed with a degenerative kidney disorder which doctors believe had gone undetected for around 14 years. Over the following years, his kidney function deteriorated significantly, falling from 38% to just 3%.

In an incredible act of generosity, one of Chris’s ice hockey teammates volunteered to be tested as a potential kidney donor. On 31st May 2025, Chris received a kidney transplant from his teammate, giving him the opportunity to regain his health and return to everyday life.

Despite the successful transplant, Chris was advised that returning to ice hockey might not be possible due to the position of his new kidney. Standard ice hockey protective equipment does not provide sufficient padding around the area where the transplanted kidney is located, leaving Chris facing the prospect of giving up a sport that had been part of his life for more than two decades.

Determined to explore whether there was a solution, Chris approached Dressability to see if a specialist clothing adaptation could help.

Our experienced dressmakers worked closely with Chris to design and create a bespoke undergarment featuring a specially positioned pocket to hold a solid plastic and foam protective pad over his transplanted kidney.

The garment was designed to be worn underneath his existing ice hockey equipment, helping to keep the additional padding securely in place whilst allowing Chris to move comfortably on the ice.

We’re delighted that Chris has since been able to return to playing ice hockey, rejoining his teammates and enjoying the sport that has meant so much to him over the years.

Speaking about his experience, Chris said:

“Thanks to this pad pocket I have been able to return to the Ice and have been able to regain the team bond that has kept me going to the rink for 24 years. Without the help of the people at Dressability I would not have been able to return to the Ice and my team.”

Since returning to ice hockey, Chris has also been in contact with David Ayres in the USA, who has played in the NHL following a kidney transplant. David kindly signed a jersey for both Chris and his kidney donor, recognising their shared connection through the sport.

Chris was particularly keen to highlight that this story belongs to both him and his donor, whose remarkable generosity made his return to the ice possible.

At Dressability, we work with people who have a wide range of disabilities, medical conditions and individual clothing requirements. Chris’s experience is a wonderful example of how a relatively simple but carefully considered clothing adaptation can make a significant difference, helping someone continue enjoying an activity that is important to them.

We would like to thank Chris for sharing his story and allowing us to highlight the difference our work can make, and recognise the extraordinary generosity of his teammate.

If you or someone you know could benefit from a specialist clothing alteration or adaptation, please contact Dressability on 01793 512878 or email dressmaking@dressability.org.uk to find out how we may be able to help.

We are delighted to see Dressability featured by AnnKM in a new article exploring the work we do to make clothing more accessible and inclusive.

The feature looks at the different ways Dressability supports people with disabilities, limited dexterity and other individual needs through affordable clothing alterations and bespoke adaptations. It also highlights how relatively simple changes to clothing can make a significant difference to someone’s comfort, confidence and independence.

Alongside our core adaptation service, the article explores the wider work taking place at Dressability, including our UK-wide postal service, the contribution made by our fantastic team of volunteers and our work to reduce clothing waste through the reuse and redistribution of garments.

The feature also shares some of the impact of our work, including feedback from our clients and the number of garments altered, adapted and repurposed by the charity each year.

Having our work featured by AnnKM provides another opportunity to raise awareness of Dressability and, importantly, to reach more people who may benefit from the support we provide.

We would like to thank AnnKM for taking the time to learn more about Dressability and for helping us share our work with a wider audience.

You can read the full article here:

https://www.annkm.com/publications/01l2rjo5j26nq83ezdxxhf16adx2za

Dressability was delighted to welcome BBC Points West to our Swindon workshop recently, helping to shine a light on our work and the difference that clothing alterations, adaptations and reuse can make within our community.

The BBC visited Dressability to find out more about our de-branding work, which gives good-quality clothing that might otherwise go to waste a new lease of life.

Our team removes embroidered and printed company logos from donated coats, fleeces and other garments, allowing them to be reused and donated to people who need them. Suitable clothing is often passed on to organisations including Swindon Night Shelter.

The visit was a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the work that goes into carefully removing company branding and to explain how something relatively simple can prevent perfectly usable clothing from being discarded.

Dressability’s work extends far beyond de-branding. At the heart of the charity is our clothing adaptation service, supporting adults and children with disabilities, limited mobility and reduced dexterity.

Our experienced team can make a wide range of practical alterations to clothing, from replacing difficult buttons and zips with easier fastenings to adapting garments around medical equipment, wheelchairs and individual mobility requirements.

We were very grateful to BBC Points West for taking the time to visit Dressability and help raise awareness of our work.

You can read the full BBC News story and find out more about the project here:

Read the BBC News article – Dressability

If you or someone you know could benefit from clothing adaptations, please get in touch with the Dressability team.

Telephone: 01793 512878
Email: dressmaking@dressability.org.uk

A huge consignment of clothing has recently arrived at Dressability, with our fantastic volunteers taking on the task of carefully removing embroidered company logos so the garments can be put to good use again.

The clothing was generously donated by Osnic Embroidery & Printing, a family-run business established in 1991 specialising in embroidered and printed workwear, teamwear and promotional clothing.

Rather than allowing perfectly good garments to go to waste when they can no longer be used for their original purpose, the team at Dressability is carefully de-branding each item by removing the embroidered logos.

It is a time-consuming process, particularly when removing embroidery without damaging the garment underneath, but the end result means coats, fleeces and other items can be given a new lease of life.

Once de-branded, suitable clothing can be passed on for reuse within the community, helping people who need it while also reducing the amount of usable clothing that might otherwise be discarded.

The project is a great example of how the skills of our team and volunteers can be used not only to support our local community, but also to make a positive environmental difference through reuse.

The scale of this latest donation has certainly kept everyone busy, and we are incredibly grateful to our volunteers for giving their time to work through such a large quantity of clothing.

A huge thank you goes to everyone at Osnic Embroidery & Printing for thinking of Dressability and for their incredibly generous donation.

With plenty more garments still to work through, our volunteers will be kept busy for some time yet, but every item successfully de-branded is another perfectly good piece of clothing with the opportunity to be used again.

The Dressability team recently had the pleasure of visiting the Live Well Swindon Project, run by Swindon Borough Council, to learn more about the support available to people across our local community.

Live Well Swindon helps people improve their health, wellbeing and independence by connecting them with the right support, activities and local services.

It was a great opportunity for us to learn more about the work of the Live Well Swindon team, the people they support and the many different ways they help residents across Swindon.

We were also pleased to share more about the work we do at Dressability and how our specialist clothing adaptation service can help people maintain their independence, comfort and confidence.

For someone living with a disability, reduced mobility or limited dexterity, seemingly simple features of everyday clothing can sometimes present a real challenge. Our team works with each person individually to find practical solutions, from adapting fastenings and altering garments for wheelchair users to accommodating medical equipment and other individual requirements.

Building relationships with other local organisations and services such as Live Well Swindon is incredibly valuable. By understanding more about the support available across our community, we can help ensure people are connected with the services that could make a difference to their everyday lives.

A big thank you to the Live Well Swindon team for such a warm welcome. It was a pleasure to meet everyone, and we look forward to keeping in touch.

If you or someone you know could benefit from Dressability’s clothing adaptation service, please contact us on 01793 512878 or email dressmaking@dressability.org.uk to find out how we can help.