Durham
Sunderland stars brought some festive cheer to poorly youngsters across the region this week with a trio of special hospital visits.
The Black Cats first-team squad donned their best Christmas jumpers and handed out presents to children at Sunderland Royal Hospital, Durham University Hospital and the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, which houses the children’s cancer treatment centre for the North East.
Special goody bags containing Sunderland gifts, selection boxes and match tickets brought a smile to the faces of youngsters faced with spending the festive period in hospital as the players signed autographs and posed for photo’s with the children and their families.
Striker Jermain Defoe, who visited Sunderland Royal Hospital today said: “There’s no good time to be in hospital but it is especially hard for children and their families at Christmas. Meeting the kids and talking to their parents is a small gesture that we hope can help to make things a little bit better for them at a difficult time.”
Steven Fletcher visited Durham University Hospital yesterday and added: “It’s very hard seeing children who are poorly, especially when you have children of your own, but I hope that we have helped to bring a few smiles to their faces with our visit. It was also important for us to recognise and thank the nursing staff who do such a great job and work tremendously hard over the festive period.”
