The Nurses’ Apron Partnership Becomes Donor Portal for Burning Bush Inc.

Posted on May 04, 2009

The Nurses’ Apron Partnership (TNAP), a grassroots group of American nurses and their friends, is partnering with Burning Bush Inc. to fund additional training and education for nurses in Central Kenya.

TNAP was founded by Ginger Manley, RN, a graduate of the Vanderbilt School of Nursing and former student of Poppy Buchanan, founder of Burning Bush Inc. Ginger learned of Poppy’s work in Kenya at the 2006 reunion of the Vanderbilt School of Nursing and was inspired to use her Aunt Katherine’s collection of vintage kitchen aprons as a unique vehicle for fundraising. Reminding her classmates that aprons once were a standard component of nurses’ uniforms, she asked 50 friends and classmates to adopt one of her aprons and write an essay or poem to go with it.

Ginger compiled the stories and poems into a book titled Gotcha’ Covered: A legacy of service and protection, scheduled for publication in summer 2009. Working on the book has been a happy experience for Ginger, who says, “I have learned that the role of the humble apron in the lives of women and of nurses is rich with inspiration, humor, defiance, fiction, and deeply held memories of love and nurturing!”

Initial proceeds from the sale of Gotcha’ Covered will be used to sponsor Jocelyn Macharia, an RN who owns and operates her own clinic in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Jocelyn plans to pursue a master’s degree in Community Pastoral Care and HIV/AIDS through a distance learning program at St. Paul’s University in Limuru, Kenya. TNAP has paid Jocelyn’s registration fee for the program and has set a goal of raising $7,200 for her tuition.

For more information on The Nurses Apron Partnership, go to www.thenursesapronpartnership.com