By Jed Lanyon
If you have travelled through Healesville on the Maroondah Highway over the past few months, you would have noticed a nice sign wishing a ‘thank you’ to essential service workers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The large sign thanks ICU staff, paramedics, nurses, police, supermarket staff, doctors, delivery drivers, pharmacists and chemists who may be passing through the area on their way to or from work.
While the sign has stood for months since the early days of the pandemic in March, Star Mail has now found the person responsible for the kind message.
Healesville resident Karen Driscoll was inspired to create the sign to inspire positivity after being stood down from her job and volunteer work in early March.
“I lost my job really early on,” she said. “All my volunteering was shut down. I was feeling pretty down.
“Pretty much everything in my life stopped very suddenly and very early. When other people started to lockdown, I had already been there for a while.”
Ms Driscoll worked and volunteered for St. John Ambulance in schools and major events.
“I’m someone who gives a lot of my time. By March I had completed 140 volunteer hours or more and suddenly I have nothing to do.
“I’ve always found when I’m feeling really down and depressed the thing that helps most in helping other people.
With extra time on her hands, Ms Driscoll decided to grab some pieces of wood and paint to start the project.
She said many of her friends, who are paramedics, said they feel good when they drive past and see it, while her local chemist keeps a photo of the sign up in the store.
“Occasionally we get toots from people driving by.”
“It’s just a nice reminder to be kind and show a bit of gratitude. Just because someone still has their job and is still working, it doesn’t mean things haven’t been harsh to them.
“I do hope that it has reached people and we do see people out there taking selfies with it. I’d love to know how far it has spread.”
Ms Driscoll said the pandemic had given her time to think and now she has decided to go back to studying at university, while her ‘thank you’ sign will be coming down soon as she relocates.
“Now I have to work out when to take it down … We finally bought our first house and we’ll be moving in the next month.
“I’m just moving down the highway to Narbethong, so it might find a new home.”
