Employees at Picton Metro have came together to create over 100 movie night-themed care packages for all staff members at Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (PECMH).

Store manager Murray Lupenette along with assistant store manager Matt Grundy and book keeper Carmen Kloet, delivered the gift bags to the hospital Thursday to be distributed to staff members who’ve been working hard for the health of our community during these extremely difficult and stressful times.

“Hospital teams need our help now more than ever,” said Lupenette. “They do it all with unwavering dedication, compassion and resilience. It’s inspiring. At Metro, we’re committed to doing everything we can to support our community during the COVID-19 pandemic and show the staff at the hospital how appreciative we are for everything they’re doing right now.”

The gift bags contained items suited for a movie night at home and included chips, popcorn, licorice, pop, juice boxes and other confectionery treats.

“I’m so proud of our community,” said Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMH Foundation. “Since the very early days of this pandemic, residents and businesses have stepped forward to help in so many ways. We are all in this together.”

COVID-19 is an unfamiliar foe which has reshaped daily routines as schools remain closed, employees work from home, shared pleasures such as sporting events are cancelled and movie theatres go dark.

“It’s an honour for our Foundation to help facilitate so many acts of kindness,” Coull said. “Not only do these gifts make a difference, they let our health care professionals know we care about them; that donors in the community, like Metro, care about them.”

The staff at PECMH were very grateful for the gift from Metro but joined the Foundation team in expressing their own gratitude and appreciation for the hard work put in by Metro’s staff during these challenging times.

“The unsung heroes are all of the essential workers who still show up every day to work to make our lives just a little bit easier during this pandemic,” added Coull. “The grocery store workers, the truck drivers, the workers at gas stations, the clerks at pharmacies and hardware stores, the sanitation workers and all the utilities workers, these are the unsung heroes. The ones we often forget to thank during the crisis. The ones that are also putting their lives on the line everyday. We appreciate all of them.”

For more information on PECMHF please visit pecmhf.ca