In May 2020, we were approached by an NHS mental health nurse from East Lancashire who said she wanted to mark Mental Health Awareness Week by “spreading random acts of kindness amongst the teams and families we support.”
The NHS teams in question provide front-line services for families in East Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, which is of course, where Simply Doughnuts is based. We thought this was a wonderful idea that greatly deserved to be supported, so we readily agreed to provide a free consignment of doughnuts that could be shared out amongst those who would most appreciate them.
Consequently, we made a special delivery to Charlotte Blackburn, the specialist safeguarding practitioner who had originally contacted us. Charlotte is based at Daisyfield Mill in Blackburn and she said she was “over the moon” at the donation.
Describing the background to her plan, she said: “I support the teams within our area who provide safeguarding services – covering issues such as child protection, domestic abuse, mental health and so on. We work closely with a range of colleagues – for example: community mental health teams, district nursing teams, the inpatients team at Pendleview Royal Blackburn and others.
“I’m really passionate about ensuring staff wellbeing, and I really believe that now, more than ever, it’s important to look after our mental wellbeing and feel appreciated in what has been one of the most challenging times we have ever faced. My plan for Mental Health Awareness Week was to surprise some of our teams with random acts of kindness, by way of a ‘thank you’ card and some sweet treats, which always go down well.”
Charlotte’s plan went ahead as planned and she sent us a number of photos to show how well received the doughnuts were.
“I’m absolutely delighted to have been able to support this idea,” said company MD Shiraz Master. “Celebrating kindness is always important, but it was especially good to have been able to do this at a time when NHS staff have been working so hard and under such challenging conditions. Like the whole of the country, we really value NHS staff and all that they do, and this was one small way of showing our appreciation.”
