UPDATE:

A further 3,000 masks have been delivered to care homes and charities in Solihull from our garage in Dorridge, following an appeal which received incredible support from the community.

We included drawings from our children to raise spirits among our much-valued carers.

We eclipsed our £2,500 target for 5,000 masks well within a week, so we are now concluding our fund-raising efforts. All residual funds will be donated to NHS charities.

We would like to thank everyone who backed us with donations, those who shared our appeal and the many who offered support.

You have helped make it clear that our medics and carers are not alone in Solihull.

Below is a list of surgeries, hospices, care homes and charities who are among those who received our 5,000 masks over the last two weeks:

Jobs Close Care Home (Knowle) (Pictured above)

Dorridge Surgery (who also distributed to other Solihull surgeries)

Knowle Surgery

Marie Curie Hospice (Solihull town centre)

Royal Star & Garter Care Home for ex-military (Solihull town centre)

Alexandra House Care Home (Olton)

Swallows Meadow Court Care Home (Shirley)

Lady Katherine Housing and Care (Knowle) (pictured below)

Elizabeth House Care Home (Shirley)

St Bernards Care Home (Olton)

Birchmere House Care Home (Knowle)

Family Care Trust Solihull - charity for people with disabilities (Bentley Heath)

Elite Assistance home care (Knowle)

Trinity Apartments - housing for people with disabilities (Shirley)

Mind UK mental health charity (Various sites)

Extra Care homes (Various sites)

The Grove Residential Home (Solihull town centre) (Pictured below)

APPEAL: (FOR BACKGROUND)

This is an urgent appeal to help meet the desperate need for surgical masks for the brave doctors, nurses and carers who are fighting coronavirus at GP surgeries, care homes and in the community in the Solihull area.

We are local residents who lived in China for over ten years (I was a foreign correspondent). We are not business-people. We are doing this on a voluntary basis for the community.

We secured these 5,000 masks in China through the good contacts we have there, at below market value. It is almost impossible to buy masks in bulk in the UK.

About 2,000 masks have already been delivered, mainly to GP surgeries and hospices. We are now focusing on care homes and charities.

These masks are CE/ISO quality certified, have been verified by local nursing staff, and are delivered without profit to our house in Dorridge. The £2,500 includes all freight costs and import tax.

The government has vowed to increase the amount of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical staff on the frontline in hospitals - but our local doctors, nurses and carers are also risking their own health as they confront Covid-19 in our community.

One in four NHS doctors - including those in Solihull - are currently off sick or in isolation, and many have been infected through inadequate PPE. Many have sadly lost their lives fighting this virus.

Residents and carers (St Bernards Care Home with our masks above) in homes are also facing a crisis during these challenging times. Fifteen residents died at one home this week.

So let’s help as many of our brave medics and carers as possible remain fit and able to help our loved ones if they fall sick during this challenging time.

Please donate generously.

About the appeal:

We hope to raise £2,500 to fund the first 5,000 masks, and will then seek to obtain further masks and PPE with any amount reached over that.


We will post on this website updates on where the masks are being used.