Durham Cricket pay a Christmas visit to the Great North Children’s Hospital
Several of the Durham Cricket Men’s and Women’s squad alongside coaching staff visited the Great North Children’s Hospital at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Freeman Hospital on Monday afternoon.
They came to meet some of the patients and parents as part of the Durham Cricket Foundation’s ongoing and successful link with the hospital which has been going for over 5 years.
They were welcomed onto the wards where children were receiving treatment from the wonderful staff at the GNCH.
Along with chatting with the parents and staff, the players handed out several personalised gifts to the children. This has come to be from the incredible hard work from the Durham Cricket Foundation staff, who come and deliver enrichment sessions to children and add a bit of joy to their day.
Durham Cricket batsman Graham Clark said, “It was such a good day, seeing a few smiles and seeing the kids get something a bit different was really rewarding, so really glad we came.”
Emilio Gay, first team player for Durham said, “I think it’s a really good thing the Foundation do, they’ve sorted some presents to give to the kids on behalf of the team.
He continued “It’s great seeing that we’ve brought a little bit of joy and brightened up a few of these kids’ days.”
Emily Windsor, Female Pathway Physio and Player said, “It’s been a fantastic afternoon over at the Freeman Hospital for me, it’s absolutely amazing to go and make some kids smile and speak to their family about what they’ve been up to.”
Durham Cricket Foundation is proud to work with the brave children at the Great North Children’s Hospital through the academic year through weekly sessions.
The charity arm of the club delivers weekly one-to-one cricket-themed sessions to long-term patients in the Bridges School, with the aim to help children become more active, where possible, while delivering personal outcomes to students.
Durham Cricket Foundation’s work with the Great North Children’s Hospital has been running for four academic years, with the project doubling its delivery and reach in the second year of running.
As a result, twice as many children have been benefitting from weekly sessions compared to the first couple of years of delivery for this project, which provide an outstanding sense of wellbeing and joy to patients with different illnesses and challenges.