Generous Scouts donate hundreds of food packs to healthcare workers
Generous-hearted Scouts kept healthcare workers going during Ramadan by donating hundreds of food packs.
Members of the 786th Wolverhampton (North District and West Mercia) group distributed packages to staff working at New Cross Hospital, part of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).
The boxed gifts, which came complete with a letter of peace and compassion, were for Iftar, the fast-breaking evening meal in Ramadan and is Muslims’ second meal of the day, eaten after dusk.
Containing a chicken or vegetarian option with rice, plus a dessert of banana, apple and dates, the packs were part of a total of more than 400 food parcels distributed around the area by the 786th Wolverhampton group, which is based in Whitmore Reans.
Around 50 staff tucked into the hearty packs – called ‘Iftar for our stars’ – in the Heart and Lung Centre and the Integrated Critical Care Unit alone, plus 50 in the emergency department.
A further 50 went to Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, 80 to Willenhall Ambulance Station, 30 packs each to five fire stations and 30 packs between local police teams, along with 14 triple-sized packs to foodbanks.
Dr Ammar Mustafa, senior cardiothoracic specialist on ward B8 in the Heart and Lung Centre, is a friend of 786th Wolverhampton leader Khalid Ahmed and helped co-ordinate the effort to the trust's staff.
“Khalid approached me a few years ago to do it as a thank you gift to staff and I was happy to do so. The feedback was so fantastic that we have continued it since,” said Dr Mustafa, who has been at RWT for 14 years over two spells.
“It’s a random thing so it’s only those staff present on the night who receive it, but thankfully a lot of staff have benefitted and enjoyed it.
“We had a special thank you from Karen Wooding, the senior matron for cardiology, cardiothoracics, critical care and outreach services and have had some really nice comments and feedback on our staff Facebook group.”
Khalid said: “We are trying to put unity back into the community and if you can put someone in a good place for a while in our hectic lives then it might pass on to a patient and put them in a nice place, and so on.
“We want everyone on this earth to look after each other and hopefully this has brought some cheer to the staff across our local healthcare organisations and emergency services.”
As part of the event, a total of 250 people made up of Scouts plus their friends and families attended a celebration called ‘Iftar for our stars’ at Dunstall Community Centre.
