Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Rainbow gifts raise welcome funds for ICU
JUDITH TONNER
An Airdrie craftswoman raised funds for Monklands Hospital through a special creative project.
With Barbara Watt’s picture framing business being closed during lockdown, she turned her attention to tidying remnants of leftover materials in her workshop – and was inspired to create beautiful framed rainbow pictures.
She then sold dozens of her creations via her Facebook page and raised more than £ 500 for the Airdrie hospital’s intensive care unit, which has been treating Covid-19 patients throughout the pandemic.
Barbara told the Advertiser: “Two weeks before lockdown, I hadn’t seen a customer; things ground to a halt and when lockdown was made official, I couldn’t work.
“I started tidying my workshop and thought that I needed to do something with the offcuts of frames and mount board.
“The rainbow was becoming the symbol of everything at that time, and I started making them.
“As I’d had a friend in ICU, I decided to give the money raised to the hospital; I was quite surprised by how popular they were and posted them far and wide to people, and was pleased with how much was raised.”
Barbara was able to give a welcome donation of £ 530 to ward 26 at Monklands Hospital to support their “amazing work”.
She sent a “massive thank you” on Facebook to all those who bought her creations and helped with the fundraising , saying: “I’ve been overwhelmed with the response and the positive feedback I have received.
“Lovely people have bought them as gift for friends and family, as mementoes of this unforgettable time in all of our lives, and some just because they are so cute!”
Barbara told the Advertiser: “The lady I spoke to :at Monklands Hospital was over the moon and couldn’t thank me enough.
“It will be put to such good use, for wee necessities for patients, specialist furniture they might need or for additional training courses – I was so pleased by how delighted they were and wanted to pass that on.”