Wycombe Abbey Supporting Local Charities and the NHS

It is often said that a problem is merely a challenge in disguise. Due to the sudden closure of School, a problem arose with the amount of fresh food that was left in the kitchens which had been ordered for the whole community for the final four days of the Spring Term. The catering manager was looking for a way of using the fresh food for those who might need it most in our local community. Neither the local food bank or our chosen charity, Wycombe Homeless Connection, were able to take fresh food due to the lack of appropriate storage. Wycombe Abbey staff stepped in and offered to take vegetables, salad, fruit and a host of other items in exchange for a donation to Wycombe Homeless Connection. Residential staff arrived in large numbers and all the stock was ‘sold’ quickly. Staff have been inspired to cook meals based on the items they received. Within a matter of a few days, an incredible £1487 was donated. Thank you to everyone involved.

A spokesperson for Wycombe Homeless Connection said “Thank you for your support of the charity in recent years, including the recent donations made at the start of this Covid-19 crisis. You have provided support for people who are homeless or at severe risk of it in our community.” A big thank you to the residential staff for supporting Wycombe Homeless Connection so generously and to our Chaplain, Rev’d Penny Nash, for coordinating this overnight appeal.

Personal Protective Equipment delivered to NHS workers

In response to appeals from the NHS for personal protective equipment (PPE) School has donated all its available safety goggles and face masks. An urgent request was received by Frimley Park Hospital in late March, and the following day we delivered a full car load of safety glasses, goggles and masks. Additional boxes of goggles found in the DT stores were also delivered to Wycombe General Hospital. These supplies will be used to help protect front line medical staff in these local hospitals, with any extra being distributed more widely within the NHS as needed.

Staff took the initiative to design and manufacture a prototype face mask (shown below) to a template from the DATA website. These were delivered to Wycombe General Hospital over the Easter Holidays. Wycombe General Hospital replied this week to confirm their suitability and they are delighted to deploy as many of the face masks as School can manufacture.

Alongside goggles and face masks, the Science Department responded to an appeal from the Buckinghamshire NHS Trust for any readily available Laboratory Coats.  After retrieving some coats from the laundry, and a quick turnaround, the Science department was able to deliver lab coats to Stoke Mandeville hospital within 48 hours. We have gathered a total of 150 coats to benefit the staff at the hospital. A big thank you to Mrs Sue Buxton, Director of Science and STEM, for coordinating these fantastic efforts in a short space of time. She said “I had a chat with some NHS staff on the way in to the hospital and they were really delighted and very interested in how we had made the masks. They also thanked me very warmly (and I thanked them right back!)”