MACON, Ga. — On Easter Sunday, workers at three Macon hospitals got goody bags filled with notes of gratitude, snacks, drinks, and candy.
It all started because of one Macon woman.
Maggie Verner is a labor and delivery nurse, but was furloughed by her hospital.
Even though she couldn't work herself, she still wanted to thank healthcare workers in some way.
"The idea sort of popped into my head, and then I made another Facebook status about it to see if it was something that people would be interested in providing, and they were," she said.
This led her to create the Helping Healthcare Heroes in Middle GA Facebook group to collect donations.
"Showing gratitude is such a healing thing to be able to do in times of darkness," she said.
In all, Verner said they raised about $2,100.
Roughly $1,600 was used to make over 400 goody bags for workers at Coliseum Medical Centers, Navicent Health, and Coliseum Northside.
Money left over from the project and current donations go toward buying meals from local restaurants for hospital workers.
"I just figured, if you can’t see good, you can be the good," Verner said.
Due to social distancing, Verner wasn't able to hand-deliver each goody bag, but she said she's happy to see people in the community coming together.
"I'm probably not going to create the vaccine from my living room, but I can make a Facebook post, and I can put chips in a goody bag, and I can write a letter. I can practice kindness," Verner said.
She said they'll keep going until they run out of money.
The Facebook group is hosting a Parking Lot Thank You for healthcare workers at Coliseum Medical Centers in Macon on Friday starting at 6:30 p.m.
If you'd like to donate to Helping Healthcare Heroes in Middle GA, you can use one of the methods below:
- CashApp: $maggierogersrn
- Venmo: @everett-Verner
- PayPal: rogers.maggie.RN@gmail.com
MORE HEARTWARMING NEWS
FACTS NOT FEAR | At 13WMAZ, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the coronavirus. To see our full coverage, visit our site section here: www.13wmaz.com/Coronavirus.