A new not-for-profit initiative, CheersNHS, has launched, allowing members of the public to buy frontline healthcare workers a meal to say ‘thank you’, giving NHS and healthcare staff the chance to put their feet up after a shift with a dish of their choice.
Established by 28-year-old Joe Tannorella along with a team of volunteers, CheersNHS lets you buy frontline staff a takeaway by purchasing a voucher online which gets allocated to NHS and care workers who have signed up to the scheme. The team came up with the concept from a desire to find a safe and easy way to help the public give back directly to frontline staff during lockdown.
NHS workers and frontline healthcare staff can sign-up on the website where they will be matched with a Just Eat takeaway voucher donated by a member of the public. The voucher can be used at any time (including non-work hours), meaning frontline staff can enjoy a free meal in the comfort of their own home at the most convenient time for them.
Members of the public who want to donate can do so easily through the website, where they can choose to purchase vouchers from £15 to £50. People can purchase as many vouchers as they like, and each eligible healthcare worker will be able to redeem one voucher to ensure as many as possible can benefit.
Once a frontline worker has used their voucher, the person who donated it will be emailed with a message telling them who it was redeemed by, including their role and the area they come from.
To ensure that people across the UK are able to take advantage of this support and that local restaurants and takeaways are also benefiting, the process is administered through Just Eat and eligible workers will be able to use the voucher at independent takeaways across the UK.
Joe Tannorella, Founder of CheersNHS said:
“Like so many others, I’ve spent a lot of time since lockdown began thinking about how I can safely give back to the thousands of frontline workers risking their health to protect us all.
“Business and individuals have come together across the UK to support our NHS by donating food and supplies directly to hospitals. But something we recognised was that many of the people working on the frontline don’t always have time to sit down for a proper break during their shift to enjoy a meal.
“CheersNHS was developed from our drive to show our gratitude to these healthcare heroes and I hope the small gesture of donating a meal to a hardworking NHS worker will provide them with some comfort, as well as giving them one less thing to think about after a long shift.”
CheersNHS has already received sponsorship from businesses across the UK including Confused.com, Admiral, GoCompare, MyVoucherCodes and Heap Analytics, and for every 10 meals donated through the website, one will be paid for by a sponsor.
Businesses including Amazon, GitHub and Slack have also offered support to the project, which has been developed in less than four weeks.
Businesses are also invited to sponsor the CheersNHS project.
Louise O’Shea, CEO of Confused.com said:
“Sincerely, thank you NHS workers. We hope this gesture helps to demonstrate how grateful Confused.com is for the work you’re doing to protect our team, our customers and the nation.
“We’re inspired by initiatives like CheersNHS which have formed for the sole purpose of giving a tangible ‘thank you’ to key workers. We hope other businesses will show their appreciation and make a donation, where they can.”
Further details are available on the CheersNHS website.
Messages of thanks from the public who have donated include:
“Keep up the great work! Experienced first hand recently during the birth of my daughter.”
“Thank you for everything you’re doing – you’re amazing!”
“Thanks for all your hard work. Here’s hoping you can find some time to relax and not have to think about cooking. Diolch yn fawr”
