As we enter the third year of the pandemic and tensions flare over continued COVID-19 restrictions, some are looking to show health-care workers just how much they are appreciated.
“They don’t have the choice to not show up. These are people who show up every day and save lives and they keep our families together,” said Emma May, organizer of the online fundraiser.
“People have the right to be angry, people have the right to protest. I have concerns about how far some of that’s gone, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t have the right to also say no, we love you.”
In just three days, the GoFundMe page was able to raise more than $14,000.
Since March of 2020, health-care workers have been stretched to their limits at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, those same workers are under the same, if not higher, levels of stress — both inside and outside of their place of work.
“COVID has taken a toll on our health-care systems. We know that these people are showing up every day to work to heal us, we know that sometimes in the workplace they face abuse and insult,” said May.
As frustrations among some continue to grow over public health measures brought in to slow the spread of the virus, protests have been sparked in cities across the country, including Ottawa, where a convoy has been bringing much of the nation’s capital to a standstill for several days now.
In Alberta and B.C., where protests were also held over the weekend and days prior, some health-care workers were even asked to avoid wearing scrubs or ID tags in front of demonstrators amid security concerns.
Alberta Health Services has said it heard concerns from staff from the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre ahead of a COVID-19 mandate protest that took place just across the street on Saturday.
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Extra safety precautions were brought in, according to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, which claimed some staff were harassed by protesters ahead of the weekend rallies.
“So here we are in this moment where 90 per cent of Canadians have been vaccinated — or 85 per cent. So many of us are going out of our way to protect our fellow citizens and [health-care workers] are the people who are doing this everyday, so how do we show them the love?” May wondered.
To show that love, May organized the online fundraiser, with a goal of raising $1 million.
“We have a really great little volunteer team who has come together and we are collecting nominations of your favourite health-care workers and we are now raising some money and we’re going to be gifting these people and profiling them,” she explained.
That money can be spent wherever they please.
“Someone might need to pay a daycare bill, someone might need to pay off a student loan, someone actually might have a patient in distress and they might choose to actually give that gift card to them.”
Health-care worker nominations can be made here.
You can use our online form to nominate health care workers. Cc @canadaloveshcw
@MisutkaPatricia @HaruunYEG @KariSkelton @justthebethCanadians care about health care workers https://t.co/q3fl4z0nyb
— Emma May (@emmagmay) February 7, 2022
