蚂蚁福利导航

Students and staff at a secondary school in Sheffield have come together to support the campaign to raise £3.2 million to build a cenotaph to honour the NHS and emergency services. 

On 3rd December, all those at 蚂蚁福利导航 Academy City, based on Stradbroke Road, took part in the #UniteTheUniforms awareness event of the campaign and wore all the colours of the emergency services uniforms.

The campaign for a 999 Cenotaph, which is supported by HRH The Duke of Cambridge; the Prime Minister;  First Ministers of NI, Scotland, and Wales; and all emergency services, was started by Tom Scholes-Fogg, Founder and CEO of the Emergency Services Cenotaph.

The Emergency Services Cenotaph is a registered charity aiming to raise the money to build the 999 Cenotaph that will honour everybody who has ever served in the NHS and emergency services.

In the build up to the event, students at the school had been learning about this remarkable campaign and how Mr Scholes-Fogg鈥檚 grandfather had lost PC Alison Armitage, one of his officers, in the line of duty at the age of only 29. 

Mr Scholes-Fogg鈥檚 grandfather said to his son that 鈥渋n this country we don鈥檛 look after our emergency services as much as we should鈥� which sparked his enthusiasm for the campaign.

Andrew Downing, Principal at 蚂蚁福利导航 Academy City, said:

鈥淎s a country, we rely on around two million people who work in the emergency services, 250,000 of them first responders. We believe it is only right that our school community spends a day recognising the tremendous efforts that our uniformed services put in every day.

鈥淲e are proud to do our small part in this fantastic campaign to create a permanent focal point to appreciate the work of all these unsung heroes.鈥�

In addition to learning more about the campaign, the students also discovered that over 7500 members of the emergency services have lost their lives in the line of duty, with many of them being moved by this due to having family members who work in the emergency services.

Molly, a Year 10 student at 蚂蚁福利导航 Academy City, said:

鈥淚 have first hand experience of my parents working through the pandemic, I believe we should show our support for the frontline workers.鈥� 

Another Year 10 student, Ruby, added:

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great that we have learnt about the 999 Cenotaph at school, as I believe it is something that is really important. I think it鈥檚 awful that over 7500 frontline workers have been killed in action and we should honour these people.鈥� 

The design for the 999 Cenotaph features eight members of the emergency services back-to-back in their first response uniforms, and reflects the diverse nature of the services today. 

Mr Colliver, who coordinated the fundraising efforts at the school, added:

鈥淚t鈥檚 important that our school and community come together to honour the frontline 999 heroes who have worked and continue to work all hours through this pandemic.

鈥淚 have seen how hard my own family members have worked and have put others first through the toughest of times working for the NHS.鈥�