The Newcastle United Women squad visited wards at local hospitals on Tuesday 17 December, continuing to spread festive cheer in the community as part of the ‘A Helping Hand at Christmas’ campaign.
Head Coach Becky Langley and Assistant Manager Claire Ditchburn led a team of players to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, with a group also making an appearance at the Freeman Hospital to spend time with young patients and their families.
Organised in conjunction with Newcastle Hospitals Charity, the visit also provided a chance for the players to connect with NHS staff who will spend the festive period caring for the community within hospitals nearby to St. James’ Park.
Players including Newcastle United Women captain Amber-Keegan Stobbs spent the afternoon signing autographs and posing for photos. Speaking at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Stobbs commented: “As a club, we love getting out in the community so we’re thankful to have the chance to help spread some festive cheer.
“It’s been an eye-opening experience to see how a lot of people will spend the Christmas period. In sport, you often get told that you are a role model, but realistically the people that we’ve met here today are the true inspirations. Their strength, power, courage and bravery is really inspiring and puts everything into perspective.
“Hopefully we’ve given people memories by sharing some laughs, but it has been our privilege to spend the afternoon in their company.”
Amy Mancini, charity events and volunteer manager at Newcastle Hospitals Charity, said: “Support from Newcastle Hospitals Charity comes in lots of different forms and we try really hard to make the festive hospital as cheerful as possible.
“We were delighted to welcome the Newcastle United Women’s squad to the RVI and Freeman Hospital. We’re really grateful to the players and staff for spending time with patients and their families and helping to spread some festive cheer. It’s never nice to be in hospital over the festive period but visits like this can make such a huge difference.”
The visits were organised as part of the club’s annual A Helping Hand at Christmas campaign which is a series of community pledges, including tackling food poverty, providing warm safe spaces and creating magical experiences for local people during the festive period.
More information about the A Helping Hand at Christmas campaign can be found here.
