RUGBY club Wasps’ players have made a Christmas visit to see sick children and their families.
Dan Robson, Alex Lozowski and Alapati Leiua droped in to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) where they gave festive gifts donated by Wasps as part of UHCW Charity’s ‘Pack an Extra Present’ scheme.
The scheme asks people to buy an extra gift for Santa to give out on Christmas day to either an older person, premature baby or child receiving care in hospital on Christmas day.
Scrum half Dan Robson said: “It puts things into perspective to come and see the kids. It’s not nice to be in hospital at Christmas, but they’re all awesome kids and to put a smile on their face feels good – it’s what Christmas is about.
“You almost forget about the parents who have got to bring them here and look after them – it is a tough time for the whole family. They loved and appreciated the visit and from our perspective it’s just great that we can provide that.
“All the kids were great. There were a few shy kids when we got in there but they all put a smile on their faces and they loved it.”
The Children’s and Young People’s Services at University Hospital provides a range of emergency services and planned admissions for children living in Coventry, Nuneaton, Rugby and the surrounding areas of Warwickshire – and trauma care for children from across the Midland region.
Annually these services care for 45,300 children and young people (under 18 year olds) with over 70 per cent attending the Emergency Department.
Staff from Wasps and the Ricoh Arena have also been collecting for the charity and have raised £700 which will be used to buy gifts for the children who will be in UHCW on Christmas Day.
To find out more about the Pack an Extra Present scheme visit www.uhcwcharity.org or call 024 7696 6059.
