Motivated by her own family's experience with COVID-19, a Crown Heights woman is giving back to health care heroes, serving hundreds of workers at NYU Langone Hospital

On the night of April 1, Chana Blumes’ father-in-law was admitted to NYU Langone Brooklyn Hospital with COVID-19.

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The Crown Heights resident was compelled to help the nurses and doctors there.

"They're caring for him when we can't be there, so I just wanted to like pay it forward to them,” says Blumes.

Her family ordered $40-worth of coffee for nurses, doctors and security guards.

"It's something exciting that they could look forward to every day, they know they're getting something in both the day shift and the night shift,” says Blumes.

She continued donating for the five days he was hospitalized and continued to offer her support when he was released, expanding to smoothies and snacks.

“Now I’m in touch with probably close to 20 families, so we're spending close to $1,000 a day for little pick me ups we call them. So little pick me ups, and we send about 300 nurses, staff a day,” says Blumes.

Currently out of work as a wedding photographer, this has become Blumes’s full-time job. In the past two weeks, the Brooklyn mom also started offering kosher meals to 40 staff members.

“I got a ton of messages coming in that just said ‘Wow thank you so much for sending kosher food, you know everyone is sending but we were never able to eat anything,’” says Blumes.

She plans to help hospital workers until the need slows down.