Heart-warming donation to patients
Date of release: 14 December 2023
Hundreds of hospital patients will receive a Christmas gift this festive period thanks to the generosity of customers and staff at Dunelm Wolverhampton.
From left to right - Amie Rogers, Anne Mills, Lily Page, Chris Thompson, Ashley Cittins, Hazel Skeldon, Suky Binning and Lindsey Goodall
More than 450 gifts were donated to The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity (RWT) as part of the store’s ‘Deliver Joy this Christmas’ appeal which included customers taking tags from a Christmas tree and buying a present that suited the description.
Lily Page, Store Manager, and Ann Mills, Community Champion, at the Bilston Road store said they were overwhelmed with the response from the community.
Ann said: “We have run the campaign for a few years now to spread seasonal cheer. It is our way of making a difference in our local community, which we are a big part of.
“Our customers never fail to amaze us with their generosity. We also have 54 members of staff at the store who have taken part and helped with the appeal. Everyone has been so kind.
“We started the appeal in October so it has been running for a while now and we are just overwhelmed with the response. Last year we had 250 gifts donated, so to have more 1,000 this year is amazing. We have also donated some gifts to other community venues.
“People of all ages have been so generous. There was even one family where the children used their pocket money to buy the presents which was lovely to hear. We have been swamped with gifts.”
The gifts were donated to RWT Charity for distribution. They will be taken to the children’s department and elderly care wards.
Ann added: “It was such a pleasure to see all the wonderful gifts delivered to the Trust.
“It’s lovely to know that hundreds of patients, young and old, will receive a gift on Christmas Day. The gesture feels more poignant when patients can’t be at home with their loved ones. We hope they will bring a smile to their faces and they enjoy the presents.”
Amanda Winwood, RWT Charity Development Manager, said: “We are overwhelmed at the support of our local community who have made the Dunelm ‘Deliver Joy this Christmas’ Campaign such a huge success.
“We will be distributing the gifts across our children’s departments and elderly care wards across our three hospitals. A huge thank you to all who have supported.”
ENDS
- For further information, please email amy.downward@nhs.net
