Joy for Santa’s special pair
Kind twins donate gifts and cash to hospital
East Kilbride twins Emma and Emily McHugh ensured kids stuck in hospital this Christmas didn’t miss out on the festive fun.
The Greenhills girls launched a toy donation drive for youngsters at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.
And they smashed their target with 133 toys donated – and more than £500 in cash raised.
Santa’s little helpers handed over another huge donation to the Royal Hospital for Children – and got some good news of their own.
Twin seven-year-old sisters Emma and Emily McHugh, from Greenhills, smashed their festive fundraiser and toy donation target.
The gifts were presented to kids at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children who could not make it home for a visit from Santa.
The duo were thanked for all their hard work at a special assembly at Greenhills Primary School – where they had all 133 of the toys they were donating at the front of the hall.
The sisters collected money to go towards purchasing Christmas presents as well as gifts donated from the public.
With the help of the school, they also raised over £500 for the charity.
Emily was happy to help those less fortunate, and told the News: “It was a lot of hard work. We had family and friends donate, and people from mummy’s work, and daddy’s work. There were so many.”
Emma was ecstatic to beat their total, adding: “We have 133 presents this year and had 87 last year so we beat it and we’re really happy.”
Mum Tracey was delighted with the response they have had this year and said: “The Tower Bar were great with their donation. I think they were impressed with the kids’ work – they were very, very good with us.
“They donated over 100 selection boxes, raffled a present and earned an extra £70 to go towards Yorkhill.
“We had strangers mailing us with donations and lots of people giving us money to buy presents and to put into the pot for Yorkhill.
“It’s great to see the girls doing it. It was them that asked to try and help out the hospital again.
“We didn’t want the children in hospital being sad at Christmas time.
“We had a lot of the same people as last year come out and back us.
“With the story being in the East Kilbride News we had more money to go out and buy presents.
“People were giving the girls money and saying you go out and buy the boys and girls a present, so we had a lot more people we had never met before donating.”
Tracey continued: “The school also got more involved on the collection side of things.
“They were a great help with bringing in the money for the cash donation. The girls mainly worked on the presents.
“There has been lots of very kind people.
“We’re just the carriers of the presents – it’s everyone else who donates them.
“The girls already want to do it again next year.
“We’re going to try and make it an annual thing.”
The McHugh family have a close connection with the hospital as Emily has been in and out for treatment after being born with a kidney condition.
At just two years old, she was diagnosed with scoliosis of the spine and spina bifida and required regular trips to Yorkhill.
A year later, she underwent major surgery to have her spinal cord detached from her coccyx, making it extremely painful for her to grow. Emily takes daily medication. However, just before Christmas, she got her latest MRI results and mum Tracey received a festive boost when it was confirmed that there was no need for further surgery.
“It’s really good for us as a family,” added Tracey.
“It’s always good to get some news like that just before Christmas.”
The girls already want to do it again next year. Tracey McHugh