A team of generous Celtic fans answered the call of a care home after they made a plea for personal protective equipment (PPE) to help against the coronavirus outbreak.
St Joseph’s Care Home in Robroyston, Glasgow were running dangerously low on PPE for staff and the vulnerable elderly residents they care for.
The home currently have 10 residents in isolation.
As demand for supplies increases, priority has had to go to NHS buildings leaving charities such as St Joseph’s – run by the Little Sisters of the Poor – in desperate need.
The family friend of a staff member posted on various Facebook pages stating: "This is a long shot... my friend's sister manages St Joseph's care home in Robroyston which is run by the Little Sisters of the Poor.
"They have ten residents currently in isolation and no protective equipment at all.
"They are desperate. Can anyone help?"
After seeing the plea, Celtic fan Edward Cunningham worked tirelessly to collect as many donations as possible and thankfully received an “amazing” response of cars upon cars full of supplies.
Edward, a life-long Celtic fan, put a call out to club supporters and was overwhelmed by the response.
He told the Record: “I put a post on my Twitter to the Celtic supporters, for PPE equipment as the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home St Joseph’s had run out of PPE, what amazing response from all the Celtic family cars upon cars arriving all day and night to help the carers and protecting everyone.”
Sister Marie Claire, care home manager, said: “It’s an ongoing and unmoving situation and it’s very hard to keep the amount of PPE going that we need.
“We put out an appeal and the main thing we really need is face masks as for now we’ve still been able to buy face gloves and aprons.
“At the moment anything suppliers have has to go to the NHS.
“We have been overwhelmed by the kindness of people who have answered our appeal.
“We now have enough for a couple of weeks but the problem is no one know how long this will last.
“We have to protect our residents and our staff – that’s our number one priority.”
As well the care home for the elderly, St Joseph’s also accommodates 24 independent living apartments as well as leisure facilities.
Sister Marie Claire added: “We are a charity and we have spent a huge amount of money buying buying what we can. We’re not a big company who can weather the storm.
“But life is more important than money and we are so extremely grateful for the donations we have received.”
