Big voucher collection helps hospital school (From Basildon Recorder)

Big voucher collection helps hospital school

1:00am Thursday 18th June 2009

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GENEROUS Basildon shoppers have donated thousands of supermarket vouchers to help kit out a schoolroom for sick children in hospital.

More than 150,000 Tesco and Sainsbury school vouchers, which can be cashed in for learning equipment, have been collected for the learning facility at Basildon Hospital.

The hospital said the total could not have been met without a huge boost from Brian Jiggens, who collected a staggering 67,100 Tesco vouchers.

Mr Jiggens, 56 of Kenneth Road, Pitsea, is a dedicated fundraiser for local causes, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of the schoolroom for years.

He asked local Tesco stores in Pitsea and Basildon to help by collecting vouchers.

Veronica Buttigieg, hospital school teacher, thanked everyone for their generosity.

She said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who kindly gave their Tesco and Sainsbury Vouchers to the Basildon Hospital School.

“We plan to use the vouchers to order new laptops, lots of lovely art materials and a colour photocopier, which will help us as we try to make learning fun during our patients’ stay.”

People dropped off their vouchers, which they got every time they shopped at either of the stores, in donation boxes around the hospital, or sent them in the post.

Over the years, thanks to the voucher collections, the hospital has been able to fund equipment, including laptops for the hospital school room, playroom and for children on the wards.

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