Young patients at Walsall Manor Hospital will be dreaming of …a Crafty Christmas as an annual charity appeal enters its third year.

Well Wishers, the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust charity, makes a seasonal plea for donations of craft materials such as colouring books, glitter, ribbons, paper, card and pens to help take young patients’ minds off their illnesses and treatment if they’re in hospital in the run up to Christmas.

Georgie Westley, Fundraising Manager, said: “Our Crafty Christmas appeal has been really popular for the last couple of years as providing these materials means we’re catering for older children who might not want to play with toys and games.

“Being in hospital in the run up to Christmas and missing out exciting activities that go with the build-up must be really difficult for our young patients so anything we can do to take their minds off missing out is a good thing. As well as our children’s ward and paediatric assessment unit we can distribute items for our paediatric patients in the Emergency Department too.”

To donate items for a Crafty Christmas  please pop along to the Purple Hub in the outpatients corridor of Walsall Manor Hospital on route 003. The hub is open Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm. If you have a large amount of items to donate, a collection can be arranged, just contact Georgie on 01922 656643.