Paul Hurst and members of the Town squad visit the Princess Royal Hospital Children's Ward
Shrewsbury Town players and staff visited the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford yesterday to deliver some Christmas cheer.Organised by Shrewsbury Town in the Community, Manager Paul Hurst, Abu Ogogo, Mat Sadler and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake all visited the Children’s Ward to hand out presents and meet the kids.
Around 30 children were visited with presents including Shrewsbury Town shirts and scarfs and other presents provided by Toys R’Us.
Paul Hurst was delighted to be able to go down and put a smile on the children’s faces at this time of the year.
“It’s not a place you want to be at any time, but particularly at Christmas, so if you can put a smile on one or two faces then that’s the least that we can do”, Paul told ShrewsWeb.
“Some of them seem happy with the shirts and scarfs, so it’s gone down well and I think we are trying to convert one or two and one or two have said they might come down and watch a game.
“Footballers can sometimes get a bit of a bad reputation and a lot of people don’t often see a lot of the good things that go on in collaboration with the community side, so it’s great to give a few presents and see the smile on the children’s faces.
“The football club is more than just the first team and the manager. Ultimately that’s my main role because I think if things are going well on the pitch then it’s a lot easier for other areas of the football club to run successfully, but I’ve been to a few events now since I joined the football club and they’ve all been very enjoyable."
The event was organised by Shrewsbury Town in the Community’s Education and Inclusion Development Manager Jade Hibbert and she was pleased with how the day had gone.
“It’s been amazing and you can’t explain the feeling as a staff member to be able to organise it all, come down and give things to the kids”, said Jade.
“There’s not a job like this, it’s so rewarding and to be able to see with kids’ faces and the parents faces is unbelievable.
“There’s a little burning feeling in your belly that you want every little boy and girl to be able to enjoy Christmas and in reality that isn’t always the case. It doesn’t heal the world, but it puts a little plaster on it and it makes their day a little bit brighter than it was before we came in.”