Student nurses aim to help those in desperate need

TWO student nurses at the Warrington Campus of the University of Chester have teamed up with a charity to help those in desperate need.
Kirsty Dower and Jemma Sharratt are currently seeking boots, shoes and trainers – and donated items can be dropped off at the Warrington Campus.
But it was during Mental Health Awareness week, back in May, that Kirsty, who studies mental health nursing, and Jemma, who studies Adult Nursing, decided they wanted to help the charity SHARE, which supports needy people across the North West and in refugee camps abroad.
They met with the charity team, discussed ways in which they could help, and decided to start collecting “Little bags of Kindness” – small pack containing toiletries, soap, toothbrushes and sanitary products.
Jemma said: “We were amazed to see how many people SHARE helps. We listened to stories about people who had nothing but the clothes on their back, and decided we wanted to do something to help.”
Kirsty added: “It is such an inspiring and worthy cause being able to help people who are in such desperate need of the basic necessities we sometimes take for granted. I feel humbled to be a part of such a worthy cause.”
The pair collected 60 bags to be distributed to the local homeless community, relocated families and refugees. They also collected larger donations such as clothing, shoes, baby items and children’s toys.
Dean McShane, mental health lecturer at the Warrington Campus, joined Kirsty and Jemma on a recent visit to the SHARE headquarters in North Wales, to hand over the items they collected.
He said: “The SHARE team were blown away by our students’ hard work and determination. While we were there, we even got to see one of the ‘little bags of kindness’ put to good use when a local homeless man’s key worker came in, desperate to provide him with some basic necessities.”
Jemma added: “We were so happy to see our ‘little bags of kindess’ being given out before we had even left the headquarters. It just goes to show that every donation counts and is appreciated.”
Students at the Warrington Campus took part in various activities to raise money for SHARE and raised more than £400.
Kirsty and Jemma are eager to continue to support SHARE and they will be collecting shoes, boots and trainers. Donations of footwear can be dropped at the Health and Social Care administration office or given to Dean McShane, both at the Warrington Campus.