Volunteering at food pantries, giving away meals, donating to fundraisers – these are just some of the ways that Plano residents and business owners have stepped up recently to help our neighbors with overwhelming needs.
Plano resident Jennifer Davis, a Realtor who works part-time at Starbucks, came up with her own way to show gratitude for our local healthcare workers and first responders who are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 28, Jennifer asked friends on Facebook if they would be willing to donate cash in any amount they felt comfortable with, and in return she would purchase and deliver coffees to the staff at local hospitals, our healthcare heroes. In a week’s time, more than 40 friends had donated over $1,200, with individual donations ranging from $5 up to $220.
Jennifer’s friends who worked at Medical City Plano and Methodist Richardson Medical Center helped staff members place their specific drink orders ahead of time.
Between April 3 and 4, Jennifer and her coworkers at the Starbucks located at Renner and N. Plano Roads made 256 customized drinks. On eight different trips, community volunteers loaded up the drinks to deliver to the morning and evening shifts at both hospitals.
Melanie Casey, a registered nurse in Labor and Delivery at Medical City Plano, told Jennifer, “The charge nurse from NICU said this was an awesome morale booster! Thanks a bunch!”
“I have gotten a lot of attention for this, which I appreciate, but the community who made donations and volunteered to deliver deserve the recognition, as well as our healthcare professionals and first responders,” said Jennifer. “I hope this motivates others in the community to volunteer, raise money for a cause or just pay it forward.”
Donations are still coming in, so Jennifer, along with Plano resident Victor Hanyo, brought Starbucks coffee and donuts to Plano Fire Station 6 the morning of April 4. She plans on hitting up more Plano fire stations and hospitals until the funds are gone.
If you’d like to sponsor a healthcare hero, send your donation to @planojenn through Venmo or use the Starbucks mobile app to email her a Starbucks gift card at homesbyjenn@gmail.com. Enter “healthcare heroes” in the memo line.
