Mugs of love
THESE incredible looking mugs are bringing joy to nurses and medical staff at Coventry’s hospital in their time of need.
As thousands of staff put the needs of others before their own to help battle against coronavirus at the city’s University Hospital, a small group of people are helping to say thank you in their very own special way.
They are creating mugs which include the pictures and messages created by children across the city and further afield, and they are then being sent to workers at UHCW to say thank you to our NHS heroes.
One of the people behind Thank You Mugs is Ian Mccranor who told the Telegraph that so far mugs have been sent to staff on two wards at the Walsgrave-based hospital, with many more to follow.
Ian said: “We saw all the pictures of rainbows and messages that children were doing and thought it would be a nice idea to get that to the people that matter. From speaking to a few people in the hospital and as they aren’t seeing their kids, they have their breaks and we thought it would be nice to put something in their hands that they can cherish.”
Staff on wards 41 and 20 at UHCW have been the lucky recipients so far and Thank You Mugs are now also receiving more requests from George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton and care homes across the region, as well as more at Coventry.
Ian says they are loving being able to make a difference, no matter how small, to the hard-working medical staff and are asking for donations to ensure they can spread that joy as wide as possible.
He said: “We will be doing lots of deliveries, probably a couple a week, and although we can give them away for free, they cost £4 each for a finished mug, packaged and sent over.
“So the main thing is we are looking for is people to give to the Justgiving page as for every £4 we get we can make another mug for someone.
“Also if people want a replica mug of one we send to the hospital that will cost them £8, but the money goes straight back in to what we are doing. It’s all non-profit. it’s about getting the money to make them and getting the mugs out.”
Thank You Mugs have also made some specially-requested mugs from nurses themselves who are missing their families as they work on the frontline for the NHS.
“We had a nurse contact us asking for some mugs for her as some nurses are sort of in quarantine and aren’t going back home,” said Ian.
“They don’t want to endanger their families so they will stay elsewhere. Some haven’t seen their kids for a month and we have done some mugs with photos of their children on one side so when they have their drinks at work they can hold their children close.”
Ian added: “The important thing is that it’s not about us, it’s something that as a group we are doing for no other reason than to bring joy to people in the hospital.”
For more information visit the Thank You Mugs Facebook page.