Public Services students get in the festive spirit for children at Good Hope

A group of Public Services students from South Staffordshire College have just made their annual visit to Good Hope Hospital’s Children’s Outpatients Department to drop off an incredible load of presents for the children who have their appointments there over the festive period.

This is the second year that the pupils have got involved with their own version of Secret Santa. Instead of pulling a fellow pupils name out of a hat and buying them a present for Secret Santa, they have picked a boy or girl and an age and bought a present for an anonymous child.

Ian Pringle, Public Services teacher at South Staffordshire College, said: “This is the second year the pupils have come to Good Hope Hospital to donate the presents that they have kindly bought for the children here instead of doing Secret Santa.

“We love coming into the hospital and seeing and hearing what a difference these presents can make to the children who have to visit the hospital over the festive period.”

The 35 presents will be given out on the Children’s Outpatients Department at Good Hope Hospital in the run up to Christmas to help bring some festive cheer to the hospital.

Sometimes children can feel anxious or scared whilst in hospital so bringing them added extras such as this one, can make a big difference to their hospital experience.

Laura Power, Fundraising Manager at Good Hope Hospital Charity, said: “On behalf of the Charity and the children who will receive the presents, I want to say a huge thank you to the students at South Staffordshire College who have kindly donated these amazing presents for the children who have to receive treatment over the Christmas holidays or have appointments over this time.

“The hospital can be a scary place for some children so giving them a present to take away with them can make a lot of difference to their appointment time, it might relax them or distract them from their surroundings whilst they play with a toy or talk about the presents so it really is amazing that the students have chosen to do this for them again.”

To find out more about Good Hope Hospital Charity’s Christmas appeal, please click here.

To find out more about the Children’s appeal at Good Hope Hospital and what is happening to the Children’s Outpatients Department, please click here.