West Ham United men’s team bring Christmas cheer to Newham Hospital
Players from West Ham United men’s team paid a special visit to Newham hospital this week, meeting staff and delivering gifts to our young patients.
Tomáš Souček, Mateus Fernandes, Guido Rodríguez, Kyle Walker-Peters, Luis Guilherme, Ollie Scarles and George Earthy spent time meeting with staff who are longstanding West Ham fans, before making stopovers in our Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department and finally our Rainbow children’s ward.
Midfielder Tomáš Součeks aid:
It's a special day always, especially now in this time which is just before Christmas. It's also good for us to see especially the children and the staff and what they do for the people. It's also important that they can see us and we can give them a little bit of joy, so I'm happy that I can be part of this project.
Midfielder George Earthy was born and raised in east London himself and has played alongside teammates born in Newham Hospital during his 16 years at the Club.
He said:
“It's massive for the community coming out here just trying to give a bit back, spread a bit of cheer, brighten someone's day up. I think it goes a really long way and especially around Christmas time I think it's really important for people who are in some tough situations coming to the hospital. I think if we can just give a little bit back and brighten up their day I think it means the world to them.
“West Ham's massive around here in Newham. I know a lot of boys in the Academy and a lot of the patients and staff are from Newham, so just to see how many people support you it's a really surreal feeling.
“It's a massive part of what we do, a massive part of who we are and the community is so important for West Ham. It's such a family club and the fans are such a big part of that and you see them coming here.”
Simon Ashton, Chief Executive at Newham Hospital shared his gratitude:
“We are incredibly thankful to the West Ham players for taking the time to visit us at Newham hospital. Their time and generosity put huge smiles on everyone’s faces and gave our staff a much-needed morale boost during this busy festive period.”
Among those staff and their families who the players met were Children's Emergency Department nurse Vicky Cook and her West Ham-supporting son Archie, and Emergency Department nurse of 24 years Maria Daley, who was a neighbour of a young Mark Noble as he grew up just a few streets away from the hospital.
Also present were West Ham supporters James Byrne and his wife Courtney and Rob Bright, supporters of Barts Charity who have fundraised for healthcare services after their family members received treatment at the Trusts hospitals.
They spoke warmly of the incredible care given to their loved ones by Barts staff and of the close relationship between Newham Hospital and West Ham United.