Dorian Chan, Vice Chair of the Wing Wah and Ming Moon Restaurant Group, not only works in Birmingham but lives in the city as well. "Throughout Birmingham", she said, "you`ll see Chinese businesses, Chinese professionals and Chinese employees helping to make Birmingham the dynamic, diverse and thrilling city it is because Chinese people are part of the fabric of 21st century Birmingham".
When COVID-19 hit the UK Dorian organised volunteers within the local community to unite and save lives. When Birmingham City Council announced that it had only 2 weeks supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) in March Dorian decided to step up to the challenge and help the NHS Heroes on the frontline fighting to keep us all safe. With PPE in such short supply across the entire NHS Dorian sourced 10,000 surgical masks and 1,000 N95 masks from China to donate to the NHS and volunteers helping the community. She put out calls across social media for names and contact details to build up a database of non-profit organisations to both empower the community, bring the community together and to make a difference.
"We were really grateful to the Chinese Embassy" explained Dorian "so that we could keep our NHS Heroes safe from COVID-19. We all needed to come together to prepare for community donations to the care sector and voluntary organisations during this very difficult time. We needed to take PPE to the most needed".
Dorian, with the support of local volunteers, then donated to an astonishing 95 non-profit health care providers within Birmingham and surrounding areas to support the NHS and everyone within the community fighting to save our lives from COVID-19. All of the 10,000 masks and 1,000 N95 masks were donated by Dorian and her team to healthcare providers like the John Taylor Hospice, Hodge Hill Grange Care Home, Abbeydale Nursing Home, Homecare4U, The Elms, Orchard House Nursing Home, Netherton Green Nursing Home, Evergreen Residential, Compton Care, Birkdale Residential Home, Macmillan Palliative Care, Northwick Park Hospital, AMG Nursing & Care Services and Highcroft hall.
Dorian and her team of volunteers personally thanked the healthcare professionals for all of their good work in community solidarity including police officers who were keeping our streets safe. Dorian and her team also donated PPE to Burton :Police Station, West Bromwich Police Station and HMP Foston Hall to keep people safe from COVID-19. When all of the PPE had been donated Dorian once again ordered - at her own expense - more from China because adequate PPE was in such short supply in the UK. Dorian donated PPE to NHS Wolverhampton for the CCG Swabbing Hub who were operating swabbing staff from West Midlands` ambulances, New Cross Hospital, Walsall manor Hospital and care home staff across Walsall and Wolverhampton. Dorian also donated PPE to the Head of Housing for the Homeless, a Birmingham-based charity that works to prevent homelessness in the city.
Finally, Dorian and her team donated PPE and herbal medicines to the Birmingham Confucian Society and their place of worship for the Birmingham Chinese community including operating a mail service to the elders with the community who had underlying health conditions and were on self isolation.
Thank you to all my kind-hearted PPE delivery volunteers" said Dorian. "We couldn`t have done it without you".
