LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) -- Dozens of Greater Lafayette health cafe workers are receiving a gift of appreciation. We first brought you this story before the new year, when Paula Davis, the owner of Blooms and Petals Fresh Flowers and Event Concepts decided to make gift bags and floral arrangements to deliver to frontline workers.
The week of the new year, she started making her rounds to local medical offices and hospitals in an effort to uplift spirits during the pandemic.
Some frontline workers say stress is an understatement for what it's been like working through this pandemic. That's why this small act of kindness is going a long way.
"It's quite an honor to just have people here to back us up, to pat us on the back, to encourage us, to keep us moving on," said Bruce Hankins, a medical assistant at IU Health Arnett.
The gift bags include essential items such as chapsticks, hand sanitizers, lotions, masks, and snacks.
"We have good days and we have bad days but these little tokens of these just make that bad day a little bit better," said Toni Beymer, a health care worker with Franciscan Health.
Health workers are reflecting on the year 2020 and what it's been like battling the Covid-19 virus at work and even at home.
"My wife ended up with Covid," said Hanskin. " You know, we come into work one day and we thought it was going to be normal Monday and within a couple of hours, normal never happened and our life got turned upside down, our patient's lives got turned upside down, our home lives got turned upside down."
Davis and volunteers will be delivering gift baskets until Monday, Jan. 4.
"I just wanted to encourage people to leave 2020 on a positive note and start 2021 on a positive note as well," said Davis.
These donations have not only been a positive experience for frontline workers, but also those delivering.
"It's important to me not to just wake and go to work and do your thing but to have eyes for what's going on around you and trying to be a good influence for people around you," said Jimmy Lutz, gift bag distribution volunteer and general dentist/owner of Downtown Dental in Lafayette.
"It's so important to me that they feel not forgotten, that we know that they're putting their lives on the line and that they're important to this community," said State Rep. Chris Campbell of District 26, gift bag distribution volunteer.
You can keep up with Davis and this Good Samaritan Project here.
