A budding artist who is using her skills to create badges for a hospital charity has said the project is helping her through lockdown.
Bethany-Kate McKenzie, 14, from West End in Costessey, is making the individually wrapped pieces from a £63 badge maker she bought with her Christmas money for the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals (NNUH) Charity.
They are on sale in the Hart Stores and Costessey Post Office on West End.
The Ormiston Victory Academy student has created three designs with two featuring the NHS logo, one showcasing a rainbow and another including the phrase I'm a key worker.
Miss McKenzie said: "The idea popped into my head. I think it is important to raise money for the hospital. Doing the badges has helped me with lockdown boredom. I love art."
She intends to make 1,000 badges and has so far made 100, raising £70 in the process.
The badges are made in three stages and the hardest part is preparing the designs so all parts fit, according to the teenager.
Her mother, Kim Rimmer, 33, said: "Bethany-Kate has wanted to do something for charity for a long time. The badge maker is the most expensive thing she has bought herself..
"I'm really proud of her. This is something she has thought of on her own. I think it is going to do her a lot of good. She is a lot more grown up than I realised."
People can donate however much they want for a badge and the teenager wants to create a Pokemon-inspired design for children.
NNUH chief nurse professor, Nancy Fontaine, said: “What a star Bethany-Kate is. I will definitely buy one of her badges and wear it with pride. I’d like to say a huge thank you to her and the efforts she is making to show her support for the NHS and NNUH. These are extremely difficult times for the whole of the NHS and gestures like this really help our doctors, nurses, health care assistants and all our support staff see how highly they are valued."
Louise Cook, head of fundraising at the NNUH, said: “We appreciate all help and support and love Bethany-Kate's ingenuity."
To support the charity email fundraising@nnuh.nhs.uk
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