There will be an extra special delivery for nurses at two area hospitals today, courtesy of the Webster University Men’s and Women’s soccer teams.
The teams are buying lunch for nurses who work at Mercy Hospital South in South County and Progress West Hospital in O’Fallon.
“I originally got the idea because a friend of mine was taking Venmo requests on Facebook to raise money to give back to COVID-19 frontline workers. I saw all along my Twitter timeline, as well, that people were giving back by sewing masks or supporting their local businesses, but I wanted to help out in a different way,” said Webster student Janel Bond, who is also the manager for the women’s soccer team. “I thought it might be great to send food to a hospital.”
Bond shared her idea with team coach Luigi Scire, who then reached out to Mike Siener, the men’s soccer team coach, and both teams decided it would be a joint effort.
“Coach Siener said that his wife works at Mercy South, so it was a no-brainer. He also texted me a couple days later to say that his sister works at Progress West. I looked into logistically how we would split the order in half, and that’s exactly what I did,” Bond said.
The lunch is coming from two local Jimmy John’s restaurants, and is being purchased with donations from a GoFundMe page and word of mouth through social media.
“When people donated, they mainly donated large amounts of money. I was really happy to see that,” Bond said. “When we initially put it on our social media, we tagged other Webster accounts and they gave us support from there, as well. Even our chancellor donated.”
Bond, who is at home in Cincinnati, organized the fundraiser remotely and could not be more pleased with its success.
“I just hope that other people pay it forward! I am grateful to have not gotten sick or been in contact with anyone who has gotten COVID-19, but there are people who face the risk every single day,” she said. “They are heroes who deserve to be appreciated. I think others should just give back any way they can if they are in a position to.”
