Airedale Hospital and Community Charity, has launched its annual Christmas Gift Appeal and is calling on local residents to help spread festive cheer to patients spending Christmas in hospital.
The charity is asking for donations of suitable gifts for patients of all ages at Airedale and Castleberg Hospitals, including babies in the neonatal unit, children on paediatric wards, and older patients receiving dementia and elderly care. The aim is to help bring warmth and comfort to those unable to be home for Christmas. Charity fundraiser Carla Weatherall said: “Our annual gift appeal is the perfect way to bring home comforts, festive cheer and a touch of normality to patients staying on our wards over the Christmas period. "Not everyone is well enough to make it home, so we do our very best to make Christmas Day special, but we need support from our communities to make this possible. "Donating a gift to our patients is the best way to help us spread some festive joy throughout the hospital and bring smiles to our patients’ faces on Christmas Day.” Suggested donations include items such as soft blankets, bath and body sets, colouring or puzzle books, and small activities to help patients pass the time. Gifts should not be wrapped in paper but placed in a small box or gift bag, clearly labelled with the intended age and gender of the recipient. The final date for dropping off donations is Friday, 12 December 2025. Gifts can be delivered to the charity office, located in room C33 at Airedale General Hospital. Anyone wishing to donate or find out more can contact the charity team by emailing anhsft.charity@nhs.net or by calling 01535 294870.
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