Community Focus | Charmaine Donates Six Mattresses To Linstead Hospital

The donation of seven mattresses to Linstead Public Hospital in St. Catherine could not have come at a better time, considering the strain that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has placed on medical facilities island-wide.

That burden is among the reasons Charmaine England has opted to donate six mattresses built with certain specifications. The manufacturer, Boss Furniture, donated the other mattress.

“This particular [mattress] project was funded by me. However, I’ve been involved in raising funds for other projects, and it is never an easy task to raise funds. It is even more difficult now because of the pandemic,” England said.

She once lived at Banbury district in Linstead, and would have had knowledge of the resource constraints facing the public medical facility.

“I have been to the hospital to visit, and saw that there was a need for different things, but I feel more people would benefit from this gift,” England told The Beacon.

She added: “Donation, especially to an institution that serves the broader community, is vitally important. As for the timing, it is even more important right now because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

England encouraged other people to donate.

“Most publicly funded institutions like hospitals are poorly funded by the government, who has very limited resources,” she reasoned. “It is vitally important that we all do whatever we can to assist in providing the basic necessities for patients.”

This is not the first time that England, who now lives in the United States, is supporting a charitable project.

She has been funding others at Banbury and Victoria districts in Linstead since 2013.

She, for example, is instrumental in the hosting of an annual treat in her community of Banbury. England also spearheaded other fundraising drives that donated laptops, projectors, desks, chairs, and money to Victoria Primary School.

“I am very passionate about helping people in whatever way I can, especially people who are experiencing challenges,” England declared.

She is an alumna of Dinthill Technical High School.

She is also a member of the Dinthill 1983 Link Up (Extension), which has been leading an effort to donate mattresses to Linstead Public Hospital. The number of mattresses donated so far through the initiative now stands at 19.

The group initially delivered six mattresses to the medical facility on February 26. Nearly three months later, a Jamaican living in Canada, Gloria Bobb, used the group in donating six more mattresses to the hospital.

The latest donation, which has been made by England, is timely, according to Careen Davis, a spokesperson for the Dinthill 1983 Link Up (Extension).

“The donation came at the right time,” Davis said, while noting that the hospital’s challenges have been compounded by the pandemic.

Verona Brissett, a deputy matron at Linstead Public Hospital, accepted England’s gift on July 16. She also expressed gratitude to England on behalf of the hospital’s management.

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