Thanks to amazing support from across Greater Manchester, NorthCare Charity has been able to spread festive cheer for patients and staff at our hospitals and community services this Christmas.
More than 4,000 Christmas gifts were delivered across Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Salford, ensuring that patients spending the festive period in hospital or receiving care in the community had a present to open on Christmas Day. The charity team spent over 20 hours packing gifts, wrapping paper, Christmas cards and gift tags in a Trust warehouse, which were distributed by the Estates Team to wards and departments.
NorthCare Fundraising Administrator, Lisa Halden, was interviewed by Global Radio on the Christmas present distribution, and you can watch it here.
The charity also received Christmas cards designed and written by pupils from Waterhead Academy, The Blue Coat School and Crompton House School in Oldham and Rochdale Sixth Form College, which were shared with staff across the Trust for display in staff rooms and communal areas.
The ‘Big Give Christmas Challenge’ was a huge success, with donations from the public matched by corporate match funders J Parkers, One Love Charity Events, HCC Solicitors and The Reed Foundation resulting in £8,000 raised for the RAPTOR Theatre campaign. The £1.4 million theatre, part of the Greater Manchester Major Trauma Hospital, is due to open in 2023 and will treat the most seriously injured major trauma patients from across Greater Manchester.
Staff from across the Northern Care Alliance got into the festive spirit by wearing Christmas accessories at work and making a donation to NorthCare Charity too.
The festivities continue as you can enter the charity’s Winter Raffle and be in with chance to win some fantastic prizes, including an overnight stay and breakfast for two at Hotel Football and £50 LoveToShop vouchers. Enter today at northcarecharity.org/raffle.