In times like these we rely on our devices to connect with loved ones and keep us entertained and most of us probably wouldn’t know what to do without them.
For Samantha Holland this is something she did not want patients at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust to miss out on at what can be a very lonely time for some.
The Walsall College learning mentor has donated three tablets, 10 CD players and 20 CDs all through her fundraising initiatives.
She said: “At the beginning of the pandemic I really wanted to get out there and help but I had to put my family first.”
So Samantha got creative and started off by finding random objects around the house that could be turned into face masks and posted them on social media.
After gathering a great response from people she decided to make a fundraiser out of this after realising the trust could make use of extra iPads and set up a go fund me page.
Samantha, who lives in Bloxwich said: “It feels so good to help someone else; I love to help other people. I think it has also helped me to cope with the lockdown as it made me feel happy every time someone donated and gave me something to focus on.”
In the middle of selling these masks Samantha’s nan sadly passed away but her close friend of 12 years and work colleague Rachel Timms stepped in to offer support.
With Rachel’s help, Sam managed to gain funds of £500. As well as this Rachel offered to do a gig and sing on Facebook live where people could donate. This boosted the funds up to £880 which the 33-year-old described as “amazing and a complete shock.”
With her donations, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust was able to distribute one tablet to community services, three CD players with CDs to Ward 29, two CD players with CDs to Paediatrics as well as two tablets which will be used by our young patients to facetime siblings and extended family. The remaining CD players have been distributed to Wards 1, 2 and 3.
The mother-of-two said: “I am very grateful to everyone who donated and helped us to reach our goal and to my friend Rachel for helping me when I needed it the most.”
If you would like to make a donation to the Well Wishers COVID-19 support fund you can do so clicking on this justgiving link https://bit.ly/3czWoyn