NHS charity’s virtual Christmas donations

Martin Havenhand, Chairman of The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “December is always a fun time of year at Rotherham Hospital with our Christmas Fair and lights switch on, Christmas card and bake sales, fancy dress challenges, carol singing and toy donations. Sadly, we won’t be able to celebrate those events with members of the public or colleagues in the same way due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“But your support is needed more than ever before and we hope you will join us in fundraising virtually.

“Your donations could fund extra resources, projects or equipment which the NHS would ordinarily not be able to afford. This could include everything from toys for the Children's Ward to life-saving equipment.”

The charity will be inspiring you to donate to its first ever Christmas Virtual Collection Bucket this year.

The charity’s annual Christmas lights switch on will be hosted via Facebook Live in early December and there will be some special carollers from St Bernard’s Catholic High School providing entertainment – watch this space for more information!

There will be the opportunity to boost the festive appeal while saying ‘thank you’ or ‘Merry Christmas’ to your teams, to wish a relative or friend a speedy recovery or to remember a loved one thanks to a beautiful rainbow Christmas tree donated by PHS Greenleaf. The charity is launching its ‘Message in a Bauble’ initiative where you can help to decorate the rainbow tree with heartfelt notes in return for a minimum £5 donation.

To participate, simply make your donation to the charity’s Christmas Virtual Collection Bucket via Just Giving and send your message and proof of your donation (such as your confirmation email or a screen shot from Just Giving) to [email protected]. The charity team will then add your messages to the tree, which will be based in the main concourse at Rotherham Hospital, opposite Boots.

Instead of donating toys, gifts and chocolate treats in person this year, the charity is also encouraging donors to check out its Amazon Christmas Wish List. The list includes toys, books and games to help make our youngest patients smile and gifts for our older patients, such as chocolates, toiletries, cosy socks and puzzle books.

To donate goodies from the wish list, simply log into Amazon, purchase what you would like to donate from the wish list here and they will be posted directly to the charity.

“The people of Rotherham have always been incredibly generous, particularly at Christmas. To keep everyone safe this year we really hope the individuals, businesses and community groups who have pledged their support in previous years will donate as little or as much as they can from our Amazon Christmas Wish List rather than visit the hospital,” Mr Havenhand said.

The charity is also encouraging the pubic to support our hardworking NHS colleagues in the run up to Christmas by sending messages of support. Please don’t forget to tag in the charity on Twitter (@TRFT_Charity) and by using the hashtag