10 good news stories from Scarborough's community during the coronavirus outbreak

With the number of deaths related to coronavirus rising every day, and lockdown continuing, this is understandably a sad and anxious time for many of us.

However, in our individual towns we have seen the very best in people as communities, individuals and business go over and above to help others.

Here are 10 stories from lockdown that show this community spirit in Scarborough, and there have been many others as well.

We hope they put a smile on your face and remind you that even in this uncertain time, people in this town are still there for each other.

As always, email [email protected] for stories.

1) The Blue Bow fundraiser

You may have noticed blue bows popping up on doors around Scarborough.

Three of the town's florists have teamed up to offer the door ribbons in return for a donation to Scarborough Hospital, after florists were ordered to shut their doors along with many other businesses.

Since launching the idea, Michelle Brown from Flowers of Distinction on North Marine Road, Claire Fenwick from Forget Me Not Florist on Victoria Road and Claire Warburton from Rose Garden Florist on Dean Road have been inundated with requests for hundreds of bows.

One man who lives on Durham Street asked for 61 bows - one for each house on the street.

Read the full story here.

2) Our NHS volunteers

The Government had to pause its NHS volunteer scheme after 750,000 people applied to take part.

The scheme was set up to help bolster the NHS’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic by supporting the 1.5 million people who are at most risk from coronavirus.

Many people from Scarborough signed up and we spoke to five of them - several of which are key workers themselves - to find out how what prompted them to do so.

Read the full story here.

3) Free plants for NHS staff

Reighton Nurseries delivered a van load of plants and bulbs to Scarborough Hospital so workers could choose two each.

As a family business, they wanted to support the NHS family working so hard at the moment.

Read the full story here.

4) Kingspan employees shave heads

The PPE shortages across the country have been widely reported, but locally many have been doing extraordinary things to try and help solve the problem.

Six employees from the Kingspan plant at Sherburn decided to shave their heads if they could raise £1,500 to buy PPE for Scarborough Hospital.

Not only did they hit their target, they have almost doubled it at nearly £3,000.

Kingspan is also donating to the total.

Read the full story here.

5) Musical thank you to the NHS

The family of a nurse at Scarborough Hospital created a musical tribute to thank her and the rest of the NHS workers.

Callum Dunwell, his dad Adam North, 15-year-old brother Jayden Dunwell and 10-year-old brother Ben Dunwell enlisted the help of family, friends and even two celebrity performers for their rendition of The Beatles’ ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’.

“Mum is going out to work, doing 12-hour shifts on the intensive care unit, and we can see how drained she is when she gets home," Callum said, “We wanted to do something to thank her and all the key workers.”

Read the full story here.

6) Cooplands start 20% offer for NHS, emergency and key workers

Bakery chain Cooplands has started offering 20% off its products to NHS, emergency and care workers as a way of saying thank you.

The 135-year-old bakery business is also donating free food routinely to hospitals close to their bakery production sites in Scarborough, Hull and Durham.

Find out more here.

7) Elvis Fan Club Scarborough fundraiser, backed by Rod Stewart, raises £1,500

An auction held by the Elvis Fan Club Scarborough raised £1,500.

The auction was held to support the Mark Summer's tribute gig online which raised a total of £14,000 for the NHS.

The Scarborough groups's auction attracted support from one of the group's honorary members Gaynor Morgan, her father ex Scottish international footballer Willie Morgan and Sir Rod Stewart

8) Free sweet treats for NHS staff and police

After following government guidelines and temporarily closing, the owners of Croft Chocolates on Newborough had an excess of products on the shelves.

They wrapped up all 1,400 chocolates and donated them to Scarborough Hospital and the police station.

9) College teacher creates face masks

Another PPE-related story here - Emma Speake, head of design technology at Scarborough College, has been creating simple face masks to help frontline workers.

She has delivered them to doctors' surgeries and the hospital.

Read the full story here.

10) Care home in Filey receives hundreds of Easter cards

The people of Filey let The Hylands care home residents know they were in their thoughts over the Easter weekend.

After a Facebook appeal the care home received hundreds of cards and a donation of Easter eggs.

The home is closed to visitors during lockdown, but the cards helped residents to feel a little less isolated.

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