A nationwide campaign has been launched by the husband of a Guildford health worker, which aims to boost the morale of NHS staff and raise money for charity.
Blue Hearts 4 Heroes was launched by Andy Williams after being inspired by the work of his wife Sally, who is treating patients with Covid-19 at a local community hospital. His aim is to see homes in England display a blue heart in honour of the work done by NHS health workers and raise millions of pounds for charity.
Andy’s campaign was inspired by the first national ‘Clap for Carers’ in March and has already attracted the support of a number of high-profile names, including US Open Golf winner Justin Rose and TV actor Suzy Perry. Premier League football club Brighton has also publicly backed the cause.
Andy, 49, said:
After a long uncomfortable shift wearing PPE Sally comes home exhausted but determined to do her bit again the next day. She’s an absolute inspiration.
Sally is so modest and often feels embarrassed when the street starts clapping on a Thursday – she just sees it as doing her job. But for all the people like her, to come home from a shift and see entire rows of houses with a blue heart would be something special.
Each blue heart costs £10 with all proceeds going to NHS Charities Together, the same charity for which the now famous Captain Tom Moore raised nearly £33m by completing 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday.
The fundraiser by the retired British Army captain also started out as a local initiative and the Blue Hearts 4 Heroes campaign hopes to emulate this success by reaching millions of homes.
Andy said:
There are 25 million houses in the UK, so if just 10 per cent bought a heart, we could raise millions.
Ellie Orton, Chief Executive of NHS Charities Together, said:
We’re all so grateful for the incredible work of our NHS staff and volunteers and I hope this initiative helps show frontline workers just how much their hard work and dedication means to us all.
To buy your blue heart, go to www.bluehearts4heroes.co.uk.
Photo by Blue Hearts 4 Heroes
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