Austin Rees: Elf for the day
Hannah Murphy from Austin Rees on bringing festive cheer to young children in hospital this Christmas time
All of our staff were dressed as elves on this special day (12th December), welcoming contractors, clients and friends to our offices. We embraced the day as our own and were determined to make this day better than the year before. We were again delighted by the response from all of our contractors who donated presents for our trip to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Trevor Mann Baby Unit. We also received many kind money donations to our Giving Page. Many presents had been delivered to our offices over the last few weeks, these presents were taken home by Hannah Murphy who sat up until the very early hours wrapping them. They were for all age groups including babies, through to teenagers.
“We were completely humbled by the bravery of these children ”
The day had finally arrived from the discussions with Ryan and Analiese a few months ago, when we had said that we wanted to make this day our day. We wanted to do something special that everyone could remember. A few of the elves, including myself, took a trip up to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where we were greeted by Ryan and Analiese, photographers and staff. We were all carrying sacks of presents and were taken to the main wards where we saw children enjoying a Christmas party. When we arrived their eyes lit up, but at this stage we were not allowed to spend any time with the children. Once the party had finished we were divided into two groups accompanied by a nurse and Analiese we set out visiting the many children. We were completely humbled by the bravery of these children and the fact they managed to smile and laugh when they saw us. Some of us visited the High Dependence Ward and spoke to parents who were also very brave talking about their little ones. Another group of us visited the main wards where the children were either there for the day or indefinitely. Again we spoke to many of the worried parents about their children. We spent time playing with the beautiful children and to see their little faces light up when they were opening their presents was an amazing feeling. We spent many hours with the children and we hope so much that we helped make a difference on this day. We would like to particularly thank Rockinghorse, Analiese and Ryan, for allowing us to make this day, 12th December, Elf Day, our day. We would like to wish a Happy Christmas to all the wonderful children and parents that we met at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and Trevor Mann Baby Unit and we look forward to seeing you very soon.
