As part of ongoing community efforts during lockdown, Uxbridge College donated 1,000 branded small bottles of hand sanitisers to local care homes and health services, and bottles of water and Easter gifts to staff at Wexham Park Hospital as well as to Queen Mary’s Maternity Unit and Intensive Care Unit at West Middlesex University Hospital. A number of the students have parents and relatives working at the hospitals.

The hand sanitisers were originally ordered as giveaways for Healthy College Week, and Uniformed Public Services students paid for and wrapped small gifts and donated boxes of chocolate bars and bottles of water. Hospital staff made a video of images of staff with their gifts as a ‘thank you’ to the students. The students also made a video of themselves clapping and saying ‘thank you’ during the now regular weekly Thursday night ‘Clap for our Carers’ featuring Crimewatch presenter Rav Wilding, who also gave a talk to the students earlier this year.

The initiative to donate the hand sanitisers was organised by the student support team, who run Healthy College Week, who contacted local care homes that Uxbridge College works with. Annual Healthy College Week, which was due to take place at the end of April, includes a range of activities and events to support physical and mental health and wellbeing. This year students have been sent the Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook and other online resources, instead of taking part in the usual in house activities.

Dr Darrell DeSouza, Principal of Uxbridge College and HCUC, headed out in mask and gloves, with Kiran Rami, Head of Guidance and Student Services, to make the deliveries.

Dr DeSouza said: “It means a lot to us at Uxbridge College and HCUC to be able to make even a small contribution to our care services during this incredibly difficult and stressful time. If we can do anything to raise a smile amongst our amazing health workers or to support efforts to stop the spread of the virus, there is no question whatsoever that we are going to do it. And it’s even better if we can make it part of our students’ learning and personal growth as with the Public Services students taking the initiative with the donations to Wexham Park Hospital staff - I’d definitely like to give them a shoutout!”

The Uniformed Public Service students gained volunteering hours for organising the donations, and are also planning a sponsored run which they will do individually during their daily exercise periods.

The hand sanitisers were given to: Sweetcroft Residential Care Home in Hillingdon Woodlands Care Home in Ickenham Cedar Brook GP Practice in Hayes Aston House Care Home in Hayes New Horizon Care Home in Hayes West London NHS Trust – Limes Dementia service Franklin House Care Home in West Drayton Additional collections were also made by Age UK, West London NHS Trust, Care UK, and Age UK Hillingdon, Harrow & Brent.

To see the Clap for Carers video go to https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2283803055055347