Bristol City squad spread Christmas cheer
Players and staff from Bristol City Football Club made their annual Christmas visit to CHSW’s Charlton Farm on Tuesday 11th December.
The players and staff spent quality time with the children and families and staff and volunteers as they posed for photos, signed shirts and autographed squad sheets. In the games room, players and children played Fifa and table football, there was plenty of fun in the soft play area, art was created in the Messy Play room and balls were kicked about in the secluded garden.
Bristol City Football Club has been supporting CHSW for the past four seasons and has generated more than £120k in funds for the local charity.
Nine footballers and members of the coaching staff are now charity ambassadors. Josh Brownhill, one of latest members of the squad to become an ambassador said, “I’ve been coming [to Charlton Farm] for a few years and each time it really touches me. I was more than delighted to become an ambassador and I want to be involved in it at all times. Just to see the kids smile and to take their mind away from things for an hour, whether it’s plating FIFA, football or having a conversation with the families, to see them smiling is priceless.”
City Head Coach Lee Johnson also saw the visit as an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to the charity’s incredible staff as well as bring smiles to those who need them most.
He said: “This is our way of showing appreciation to the staff here who create a lovely environment for the children and their families and on a day like today, leading up to Christmas, it adds a little bit.
“The players have brought a little buzz to the place and you can feel it. You can feel how happy the kids are to be around the players. That’s what it’s all about, it’s about making these children as happy as they can be.”
This year, instead of bringing individual presents, the Club very kindly gave Charlton Farm a season ticket so that families staying for respite can go to home matches.
Karen Mathie Corporate Partnerships Fundraiser at CHSW said, “The season ticket is a wonderful gift, which I know will get a lot of use! We’d like to thank everyone at Bristol City Football Club for their continued support of Children’s Hospice South West and look forward to more fundraising activities throughout 2019.”