City kids help put patients in picture
MANCHESTER City’s magic touch rubbed off on schoolchildren who brought smiles to St Ann’s Hospice.
The club’s charity City in the Community (CITC) helped Year 4 pupils at Etchells Primary School, Heald Green, make pictures and postcards for hospice patients and staff.
The designs were part of a six-week social action project organised by CITC at the school where they had also been running sports classes.
CITC schools sports coach Stjon Clement said: “The school already had good links with St Ann’s and it was the pupils’ idea to create cards and pictures with uplifting messages for patients and staff.
“It was fantastic seeing how well they did and the result of the project brought a big smile to the face of everyone at the hospice.
“The aim was also to help educate children about what St Ann’s does and make them realise how it’s possible to assist the wider community as well.”
CITC uses football to promote health, education and inclusion to improve the lives of young people in Manchester and beyond.
St Ann’s Hospice has been providing care free of charge for patients with lifelimiting illnesses, their families and carers, for 50 years.
The hospice, with sites at Heald Green and Little Hulton, as well as a range of community and outreach services, needs £20,000 a day to keep its doors open.
Rachel McMillan, chief executive of St Ann’s, said: “It’s fantastic that the children from Etchells Primary and City in the Community have thought of our staff and patients in such a lovely way.
“The team have worked so hard on the front line throughout the pandemic to ensure local patients could continue receiving specialist hospice care when they needed it most.
“We’re all really touched by the pictures and cards, and can’t thank everyone enough for thinking of us.”
For more information about St Ann’s, or to find out how you can support the hospice, please visit www.sah.org.uk