Donations of food and drinks welcomed by Portsmouth vaccination volunteers

VOLUNTEERS helping the region’s Covid vaccination programme have welcomed donations of hot drinks and food thanks to the efforts of Tesco Fratton and Southsea Castle Rotary Club.

Volunteers and staff at St James’ Hospital Vaccination Centre, Lake Road, Derby Road, Sunnyside and John Pounds surgeries along with Southsea and Eastney medical centres were able to enjoy hot soup, bottles of water, fruit and energy bars as they carried out their roles in delivering the potentially life-saving jabs.

placeholder image
Read More
Spain pursuing Covid vaccine passport scheme to allow return of tourists - what ...

The donations were the idea of Tesco representative Gemma Morrison and co-ordinated by former Rotary Club president Ken Ebbens.

Lake Road Surgery welcomes the arrival of donations of food and drinks for vaccination volnteers and staff.placeholder image
Lake Road Surgery welcomes the arrival of donations of food and drinks for vaccination volnteers and staff.

Gemma said: ‘We had already made a big donation to St James’ and Ken mentioned that there are surgeries in Portsmouth that are also giving vaccinations. Tesco wanted to make donations to the surgeries and the people supporting the vaccinations.

‘A huge thanks to Southsea Castle Rotary Club for putting me in contact with the right people to make the donations a great success.’

Ken added: ‘The Rotary Club’s motto is Service Above Self. We also pride ourselves on volunteers and these volunteers are helping to make this vaccination programme a huge success.

‘This programme is something which really benefits the local community and it is great to see this and provide support. Many people see these vaccinations as a ticket to getting back to some sort of freedom.’

Staff at Southsea Medical Centre give the thumbs up after receiving donations of food and drinks.placeholder image
Staff at Southsea Medical Centre give the thumbs up after receiving donations of food and drinks.

After receiving the food donations, Lake Road Surgery practice manager Helen Burch said: Wow, this was an amazing donation that was very well received.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.

Related topics:
News you can trust since 1877
Follow us
© 2026 Iconic Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice