My favourite Newcastle United moment of the year | OneFootball

The Newcastle United players and coaching staff have visited the RVI and Freeman.

My very favourite time of the year, seeing the reaction of the kids in hospital meeting their idols.

The Newcastle United players (as well as Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall etc) able to give such a boost, to the kids, their families and the hospital staff, so lovely to see.

The club doing an official release (see below), revealing the squad visited the local hospitals on Tuesday.

Pretty much all clubs do the same of course and great to see the reaction of the kids, whatever squad of players visit whichever hospital.

The power of football, a massive positive and tonic, when so much negative reporting goes on around football.

Newcastle United official release text that went alongside their gallery of photos showing the hospital visits – 11 December 2024:

‘Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall led a team of players to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, with a group also making an appearance at the Freeman Hospital to spend time with young patients and their families.

The visit, organised in conjunction with Newcastle Hospitals Charity, provided a chance for patients to meet their idols, while also allowing players to connect with NHS staff who will spend the festive period caring for the community within hospitals nearby to St. James’ Park.

Players spent the afternoon signing autographs, posing for photos and handing out club goody bags.

This year’s gifts included a bespoke Newcastle United teddy bear, featuring a black and white shirt recycled from last year’s playing kits, cutting waste material and providing youngsters with a sustainable keepsake. The shirts were sewn by linen room staff at the Freeman Hospital, with Newcastle United Academy players also assisting the process by helping to place shirts on more than 120 bears.

Speaking at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Bruno Guimarães commented: “It’s always nice to spend these moments with patients and staff as we know how much it means to them. As a club, we’re passionate about our connection with the community so visits like this are incredibly valuable.

“We’re all extremely proud to have a chance to create memories with kids and give them some strength for the Christmas period. It’s been a heartwarming afternoon and has really lifted the spirits of everyone involved.”

Rachael Black, associate director (fundraising) at Newcastle Hospitals Charity said: “A big thank you to everyone from Newcastle United for coming along to visit our young patients at the RVI and Freeman Hospital. Each December around 2,000 children spend the festive season in one of our hospitals, away from friends and family, which isn’t anybody’s first choice, so we try really hard to make the festive period as cheerful as possible with a full programme of activity.

“Support for Newcastle Hospitals Charity comes in lots of different forms and a visit from NUFC helped provide just the medicine our young patients and their families needed to help raise the spirits.”

The visits were organised as part of the club’s annual A Helping Hand at Christmas campaign which is a series of community pledges, including tackling food poverty, providing warm safe spaces and creating magical experiences for local people during the festive period.