"We are so thankful to everyone who has volunteered and donated, including Bellway. When I was furloughed, they encouraged us to volunteer and have been really supportive."
Simon Greenaway
Simon Greenaway, who works for Bellway South Midlands and has a degree in fashion, is spending his time in lockdown cutting patterns, purchasing materials and sewing scrubs for key care workers and NHS staff.
Along with 7.5 million other workers in the UK, Simon was placed on furlough and decided to make most of his time by setting up the voluntary group Scrub Hub Coventry and North Warwickshire. He now receives requests from hospitals, care homes and individuals in and around the county for the vital safety wear.
Bellway is also supporting his charitable work by making a cash donation, which will help to purchase much-needed materials.
Simon, who graduated from the London College of Fashion in 2016, said: “Many of our requests come from George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, but we also take requests from care homes in the area and often have individuals approach us.
“We have around 30 to 40 volunteers right now who are helping to cut out materials and stitch the scrubs together. We have made 35 sets of scrubs so far.”
Simon and his sister Rhian have transformed the front window of their home office in the village of Fillongley into a drive-through for volunteers to pick up patterns and materials to make the scrubs.
“We are so thankful to everyone who has volunteered and donated, including Bellway. When I was furloughed, they encouraged us to volunteer and have been really supportive. It’s great because in a way, they’re helping me help people.”
Elaine Brown, Head of Sales at Bellway South Midlands, said: “Simon is working incredibly hard organising Scrub Hub Coventry and North Warwickshire, and we are all very proud of him.
“We made it clear that we would support them in any voluntary activity they wanted to do, and we are really pleased to be able to make a donation towards further materials.
“It’s great to see Simon putting his tailoring skills to good use for the NHS and other key workers at this difficult time.”
If you would like to make a donation to Scrub Hub Coventry and North Warwickshire, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/scrub-hub-coventry-and-north-warwickshire?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
You can also find out more on the Facebook group ‘Scrub Hub Coventry and North Warwickshire’ and the Instagram account of the same name.
