Donate a gift to a patient staying in hospital this Christmas
The giving tree at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital
In the run up to Christmas, one local charity is asking you to consider purchasing one extra gift this year to donate to a patient staying in hospital.
Hampshire Hospitals Charity has recently launched its giving trees which have been popping up all across the local area including at the Wellington Arms in Basingstoke, The Cart and Horses in Winchester and Howden Insurance in Andover.
The concept is simple. The trees are decorated with gift tags containing the details of carefully selected gifts for patients that will be staying in hospital over the Christmas period. Select the tag of your choice, scan the QR code and make your donation. The gifts will then be delivered to the charity who will wrap them and distribute them ahead of the big day.
Morgan Hughes, fundraising assistant at Hampshire Hospitals Charity who has been coordinating the donation of Christmas gifts, said: “We’re always overwhelmed by the support we receive over Christmas and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who donates to give a patient a gift. While our care teams are delivering essential services to those who need to be in hospital, we’ll be helping Father Christmas to deliver a little cheer around the wards.”
If you wish to make a donation, the charity would like all gifts to be received by Monday 15 December to allow them plenty of time to wrap and distribute them, ready for patients to receive over Christmas.
Sue Harriman, who recently joined Hampshire Hospitals as Chief Executive, said: "When you join an organisation, you quickly get to learn what its culture is like, and seeing staff work alongside the charity to make sure our patients are thought about over the festive period gives me a real insight into how our teams work together and are always putting patients first."
To those who are unable to get to a giving tree, donations can be made through the charity’s website where you’ll be able to select your gifts and have them delivered to the hospital, ready for them to be unwrapped on Christmas Day. Click the button below to view the online gifts and make your donation.