Police officer produces goodie bags for NHS staff

A Leicestershire frontline police officer has joined forces with an army of volunteers to produce hundreds of gift bags for NHS staff.

Included in the bags are headbands, fabric laundry bags and hand lotion to help some of the workforce currently battling coronavirus head-on.

Around 400 have now been delivered to staff working at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

PC Sara-Louise Henney, wanted to donate the gifts to show her appreciation to the doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Sara-Louise contacted Andrea McDonald, who set up online group ‘Shepshed sewing for the NHS’, to see if she could help.

Andrea and her group of 170 crafters, seamstresses and supporters have been helping to create items for keyworkers for a number of weeks and were able to provide the gifts to be included in the bags.

The headbands have buttons sewn on both sides and can be used when wearing face masks to help alleviate pressure around the ears caused by the elastic straps.

PC Henney said: “I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for everything my fellow frontline workers are doing.

“When not on duty I run a business making mugs so I decided to use the profits from this to buy hand cream. With having to wear gloves for most of their shift and washing their hands constantly their hands probably become very dry and sore. It’s only a small token to acknowledge their hard work but I hope the items in the bags are useful.”

Andrea added: “Members of the group have been producing hundreds of items for the NHS and we are happy to have supplied some of these to be distributed in the goodie bags.

“I set the group up after I was overwhelmed by the number of people looking for items to be made but also the amount of people who wanted to help – it is a real community effort and not just in Shepshed but other areas too.

“Not only are the members able to provide NHS staff with items that are useful, it is also helping many people to keep busy and either learn a new skill or polish their existing skills.”