From beauty brand to nurses’ hands – we salute the volunteer army behind our toiletries for NHS campaign

FROM the Isle of Wight to Glasgow, from Cardiff to Ipswich, Fabulous has given out thousands of goody bags of toiletries to health workers.

We were shocked by snaps of NHS staff with their skin damaged by lack of sleep, using sanitiser non-stop and having to wear PPE all day, every day. And we were determined to help if we could.

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Last month we launched the Fabulous NHS Care Package, calling on beauty brands to donate items we could then pass on to frontline healthcare workers. To do this, we joined forces with an initiative called We C U 2020 – and have since given out 200,000 toiletry items to the amazing staff in hospitals, care homes and crisis centres.

None of this would have been possible without the dedication and time given by an army of volunteers. They have worked tirelessly to pack up the generous donations from beauty brands and get them to the front line.

Here, some of them share the moving personal stories that inspired them to make such a difference.

‘After the NHS saved my husband from cancer, I wanted to give back’

WHEN Fabulous asked cosmetics giant Revlon’s PR director Paula Smith if her firm would like to donate to our campaign, she did not hesitate to say yes.

Paula, 54, from Whaddon, Bucks, has good reason to get involved.

She says: “I could not say ‘thank you’ enough to the NHS for looking after every single one of my family in hospital in the past.

“Whether it has been for broken bones, an appendicitis emergency, head-wounds or three life-saving bowel and lung cancer ops for my husband, they have been just fantastic.

“Those were extremely anxious times but the superb NHS teams always gave us confidence. I am in awe of everyone we have come into contact with at the NHS.

“I also feel proud to work for Revlon, which has been determined to show its appreciation and has donated 37,500 toiletry products from Elizabeth Arden and Mitchum to key workers.”

The response to our appeal from brands has been overwhelming. Within a single week, products worth more than £500,000 were pledged for frontline workers.

‘After glamour of Topshop now I’m packing parcels in a warehouse to help’

AFTER Alice Frankel’s grandma went into a nursing home five weeks ago, social distancing rules prevented any contact with her family.

Alice, who is 25, says: “We had got to the point where we couldn’t do any more for her, so we handed over care to the people who could.

“She could not have gone on without the amazing love and care of all the nurses looking after her 24 hours a day. We owe these people so much.”

At the same time, Alice was put on unpaid leave from her job as a visual displays manager for fashion retail group Arcadia.

Finding herself suddenly with time on her hands, she swapped the glamorous business of overseeing how stores including Topshop are laid out for warehouse shifts packing up goody bags for our campaign.

She and her mum Diane, 55, sift through tens of thousands of products in warehouse space near their home in Loughton, Essex, loaned by local businesses Andy Catering and Megabooth, a photo firm. They are just some of around 30 volunteers who are helping out.

‘NHS workers inspired us to fulfil as many requests for goody bags as possible’

LAUREN Ezekiel, 36, founded the We C U 2020 scheme and says a rush of volunteers during the crisis has helped create “a sense of community in a time of isolation”.

Fabulous has been sent hundreds of moving emails requesting goody bags.

And The Sun’s editorial assistant Abby Wilson, 21, went through every single one of them with her team.

Abby says: “Nurses send me pics of their bruised skin, so I try to brighten their days.”

Among those to have got in touch with us so far are a senior nursing sister whose colleagues were terrified about being thrust into new and unfamiliar jobs, as well as the worried mum of a nurse and the proud father of two frontline health staff.

Abby says: “After hearing countless heartwarming and inspiring stories from NHS workers, we wanted to fulfil as many of these requests as we possibly could.

“Seeing these pictures and talking to the workers directly really touched me.” Fabulous is also working with the charity Helpforce, meanwhile, to identify the hospital trusts where staff are most in need of our donated toiletries.

Abby also speaks to NHS staff to check their availability to take the deliveries.

She then liaises with delivery firm UPS and the campaign’s warehouse to make sure everything runs smoothly in terms of collection.

‘I’ve gone from being a gas engineer to delivering goodies’

SHAAD Zaman usually works as a gas engineer for a commercial catering firm but when lockdown put all that on hold, he found himself at a loose end.

Since then, Shaad, 42, has been helping our appeal by dropping off donations to packers, organising stock and driving hundreds of miles each day to hand over boxes of goody bags to hospitals.

Shaad, from Ilford, Essex, says: “I don’t like sitting around, so this has been the perfect opportunity for me to do my bit helping the National Health Service.

“My favourite part of the work has been handing over the goodies and seeing the reactions of health workers. It’s heartwarming.

“Everyone is thrilled to be receiving donations for their colleagues. It boosts morale.”

Fabulous partnered with delivery giant UPS to get as many packages as possible on their way, as quickly as possible, to the people who need them.

Everyone has enjoyed playing their part in this operation to try and brighten up the lives of key workers.

One of the UPS drivers, David, adds: “Frontline workers in the NHS have been working so hard to fight coronavirus and it feels good to know that I’m helping.”

‘We’re worn out but your gifts have put the smiles back on people’s faces’

INTENSIVE care nurse Ceri Jones got in touch with Fabulous to request care packages for her worn-out colleagues — and says she was “completely overwhelmed” when the packages arrived.

Ceri, 24, who works at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, says: “I welled up going through them.

“I was so excited to give out the goody bags to my colleagues. It was so lovely to bring a smile back to their faces after such a tough time.

“It means such a lot that so many people are thinking about NHS staff and key workers at the moment. We feel so grateful for how generous and lovely all the goodies are.

“My favourite product was the Burt’s Bees wipes. They are so handy for taking your make-up off — if there is any left after the shift! They make your face feel so lovely and soft.”

She adds: “Thank you to Fabulous. We will all get through this together.”

Similarly, Dr Alison Thornton, 25, works in the thick of it at Doncaster Royal Infirmary’s accident and emergency department — and was chuffed to receive hand cream for her team.

She says: “Thank you, Fabulous, for these lovely skincare packages for our amazing team. They have been very popular and have really put a smile on everyone’s face. The packages went within seconds and are a perfect treat for our tired skin.”

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