Essex Cricket Club continue to offer help to the NHS through volunteering with Supporting Humanity, an east London charity delivering hot meals to ICU staff in 14 hospitals across the capital and the county.
Support for the NHS is growing daily in recognition of their extraordinary efforts every day on the frontline to help the fight against coronavirus.
The Supporting Humanity charity is based at Saffron Kitchen in Leyton and expanding each week, now making 1,700 meals per day to help hospital staff and the vulnerable.
The latest volunteer to be involved is the legendary Graham Gooch, who has joined the group of club volunteers to deliver meals each week to Broomfield Hospital and the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.
Gooch said: “I’m delighted to be part of the club’s outreach campaign and it’s fantastic to see the inspirational work that charities such as Supporting Humanity are doing.
“The club are trying to do our own bit to help the hospitals and the NHS, and it’s been a privilege to deliver food for the staff.
“The key workers are doing a fantastic job. Everyone in the community in east London, Essex and across the country are really appreciative for what all they are doing for people in need at this terrible time – they deserve a medal, all of them.”
Gooch has been joined by a number of the first team and women’s squads in recent weeks, including captains Tom Westley, Kelly Castle and Simon Harmer.
There has also been fantastic support from club partners Cloudfm, Woodland Group and Allen Ford, who have helped to deliver meals to Basildon and Colchester hospitals.
Supporting Humanity’s Idris Patel said: “The support we’ve had since in recent weeks has been fantastic and this is purely run by the help of the local community.
“A big thanks goes to the businesses and all the volunteers who continue to support us, plus the daily public donations which are keeping the deliveries going.
“Having Essex Cricket be part of our work has been great and it shows a real team effort to support an inspiring group of people who are fighting this pandemic on a daily basis.
“With their help we have now surpassed over 30,000 hot meals in three weeks and it’s been great to expand our reach into other hospitals in Essex.”
The club have set up a Just Giving page to help the great work by Supporting Humanity and the fundraising appeal is also supporting the Essex Community Foundation, who are working across the county to support charities and voluntary groups in the fight against COVID-19 through their Essex Coronavirus Response and Recovery Programme.
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