Small Heath hero bakes 165 cakes and raises £600 for NHS staff battling coronavirus

An inspirational teenager from Small Heath in Birmingham has raised £600 to buy food for frontline medical workers during the coronavirus pandemic and baked 165 cakes for NHS staff.

Aatif Ahmad from Small Heath said he was inspired to raise the money and bake the cakes to help lift the spirits of the frontline NHS staff who are working tirelessly around the clock treating patients during the coronavirus outbreak in the city.

Aatif is currently studying law at Waverley College and he came up with the idea to launch a JustGiving appeal to raise £600 to buy food for NHS staff after hearing about the tragic death of nurse Areema Nasreen in Walsall.

Areema Nasreen was only 36-years-old when she lost her life on Friday 3rd April 2020 after testing positive for coronavirus on 23rd March while she worked at Walsall Manor Hospital.

The highly talented and much-loved NHS member of staff and mother of three is deeply missed by those who knew her.

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Teenager Aatif said: “I wanted to do something because there was the nurse in Walsall who died. That motivated me to do something to help the staff.

“The NHS staff are working exhausting hours and jeopardising their own lives to save others.

“I’m a 16-year-old baker who has come to realise that, during this extremely difficult time that we are in at the moment, we have all come to appreciate our NHS service.

“The doctors, nurses, paramedics, each and every one of them have sacrificed so much to ensure the public’s health and safety are a priority.

“To give a small thanks back to them I have decided to bake for the NHS team.”

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Aatif quickly reached his target to raise the £600 and then with the help of his sisters he embarked upon the task of baking the 165 cakes. Sano Bano, 10-years-old, and Alesha Bano, 14-years-old, helped their brother and together the delicious cakes were baked and prepared for delivery to frontline NHS staff.

The cakes were packed and then Bushra Hussain, a student paramedic, took the cakes from Small Heath to be distributed to the West Midlands Ambulance Service hub in Erdington and to staff at Heartlands Hospital on Wednesday 8th April 2020.

This inspirational story has touched the hearts of the Small Heath community and it is hoped more people will be inspired by Aatif’s incredible and life-affirming effort.

You can help Aatif Ahmad fundraise for his NHS cakes here.