Your tributes to community heroes have been pouring in - but we still want to hear about more of them.
Today we are highlighting more of the people who are going above and beyond, and including your tributes and messages.
Fundraisers Daniel Newman and Amanda Todd are collecting money to buy supplies for Ipswich Hospital during the coronavirus pandemic. This includes electrical items such as kettles and microwaves, to allow staff to prepare hot drinks and snacks, and care packages of essentials such as deodorant, shampoo, shower gel and toothpaste.
So far, with support from others, they have reached their initial £5,000 target, and have now set a new target of £7,500.
Daniel said: “Both myself and Amanda have friends and family who work in the NHS, and we know the staff at Ipswich Hospital are working so hard.” He added they are both key workers themselves, and are organising the fundraising in their spare time.
Daniel’s partner Selina Atkins is also involved in the fundraising, and said: “It’s going very well and we are extremely grateful for everyone’s generosity towards our amazing staff at the hospital.”
Companies have also got involved, with Hughes donating eight kettles and eight DAB radios for the wards, Appliances Online donating eight microwaves and Hudson Group donating 10,000 labels to help identify key staff roles behind full PPE.
You can find out more about the appeal and contribute via their JustGiving page.Amanda Lawrenson highlighted the work of “amazing groups of local people pulling together” in Felixstowe.
She said: “The Lighthouse Vintage Tea Rooms in Felixstowe is raising funds and supplying lunches to the emergency services, hospitals and GP practices.”
Luke Rawson, owner of the tea rooms, said they are supplying hundreds of free light lunches, including sandwiches, scones and salads, to a wide range of NHS and emergency services, but urgently need more support to help as many people as possible.
“People in the NHS probably haven’t got time to eat and then when they go to the supermarket there is nothing there, so this is really important,” he said.
When the tearoom had to close its doors, it had around £1,500 worth of food. “We took it up to Ipswich Hospital and that’s how it started.”
The Lighthouse Vintage Tea Rooms has a JustGiving page for donations, and is also donating profits from its afternoon tea deliveries to the service. You can find out more by visiting their Facebook page.READ MORE - Air ambulance launches emergency appeal to help fund protective gearAmanda Lawrenson also paid tribute to Felixstowe Helping Hands, saying: “It was set up the first weekend of the virus and has hundreds of volunteers collecting and delivering shopping and prescriptions for those elderly and vulnerable and even has a telephone service so people can just chat to relieve loneliness.“
The Felixstowe Helping Hands group is being run by councillor Darren Aitchison, who has more than 300 volunteers registered on his database.
They can help with shopping, prescription pick-ups, dog walking and vet prescriptions. You can get in touch with the group through its Facebook page or by calling 07479 556736.
A playgroup has come up with a special Easter treat for families in need. Rosehill playgroup in Ipswich couldn’t go ahead with a hunt for the chocolate eggs they had hidden, but made sure the eggs did not go to waste, by donating them to the local foodbank.
Deena Tye, who works at the playgroup, said: “We donated the Easter eggs that we had collected for our Easter celebration to FIND as our event couldn’t go ahead, and hopefully they will still make some little ones very happy.”
Villagers have also rallied round in Pettistree to provide great community support. Sarah Clarke said: “We’ve got a fantastic support network in our village, with a WhatsApp group for residents.
“The group is for people to not only ‘chat’ and keep each other’s spirits up /keep an ear out for others but also offer to fetch things from the shops or doctors etc. Many of the villagers are having to isolate completely due to age or health and it is proving really useful.
• If you know of any individuals, groups or businesses who are working hard to help others, please let us know! Write to us, giving their name and a photo (if possible) for a chance to be featured in another community heroes feature. Email us here.READ MORE - Sign up for our coronavirus newsletter here and join our Suffolk Coronavirus Updates Facebook group here.
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