iCandy Supports NHS Heroes at Lister Hospital
It’s hard to believe that at the end of February ExCel, London, was host to The Baby Show and now the exhibition space is a temporary hospital to treat COVID-19 patients. Only a matter of months ago iCandy was helping hundred of parents find their perfect pushchair there and when they were ready to place their order, they took a seat in our VIP lounge with one of our refreshing cans of water. Although we got through countless cans over the course of the weekend, we had surplus which we brought back to HQ in Biggleswade ready to take to the next show.
Little did we know that the upcoming baby shows would take place as virtual events. What could we do with 500 cans of water? How could we use them to do some good?
We decided to donate the waters to Lister Hospital in Stevenage, which is not only local to iCandy HQ but a hospital that has been there for many in our team and their loved ones. We got in touch with East & North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity which supports four hospitals across the region through generous donations. The charity “fund a wide variety of projects that support newborn babies up to the elderly with each and every one making a difference”.
Due to COVID-19 the charity is facing an unprecedented demand for NHS services and is not only working incredibly hard to ensure patients continue to receive extraordinary care but also ensuring staff are well looked after too.
We have all seen images and heard stories of the tireless efforts of hospital staff in the fight against the virus. A 12-hour shift wearing layers of PPE must be unimaginably draining, so any break opportunities are more vital than ever. Bethany McNeil, Head of Charity, explained how the donated waters will be utilised, “We are hugely appreciative of any donations we receive, especially soft drinks so we can restock our brand-new wellbeing area at Lister where staff can relax, refuel and refresh. We want them to be able to pick up a complimentary drink, coffees and snacks as a way of boosting morale during this difficult time”.
In order to prepare for the water drop, members of the iCandy team headed to HQ as the waters needed a little addition before making their way to Lister. Positioned two meters apart, the team proceeded to apply a sticker to each can which thanks the NHS for their incredible work. The sticker also alerts staff to the Blue Light Card scheme which provides discounts for the NHS, emergency services and armed forces. They are always there for us, so we want to be there for them. Members of the scheme have access to hundreds of online discounts for large national retailers and iCandy is proud to now be one of those brands.
iCandy is offering 5% online discount across our range of designer pushchairs and accessories for all Blue Light Card members. We hope that this offering, from the iCandy family to the families of the blue light community, will bring an element of hope at this time.
Once the stickers were applied the waters made their way to Lister where a pop-up shop has been created especially for donations. The charity is so grateful for donations of this kind but is also reliant on monetary donations so the #HereForEachOther donation appeal has been set up to fundraise to cover equipment and resources required during Covid-19.
Current requests are for specialist medical equipment and technology to enhance care during Covid-19, whilst for staff they would like to introduce wobble rooms/rest pods for each ward area and a peace garden project.
If you would like to help then you can visit the charity website or text to donate by sending HERE4EACHOTHER to 70085 to donate £5 and quoting ‘ICANDYUK’.
We will leave you with a word of thanks from Bethan, “We appreciate all the support we can get, not just for now during the crisis but also after so we can support our medical teams with equipment, refurbishments, training and support they may need”.
Thank you, health heroes.
Love iCandy x
