Children’s hospital charity asks people to gift something other than chocolate this Christmas

Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity is trying to encourage people to buy less chocolate for children in hospital this Christmas, with the offer of an alternative this December. ECHC receives a great number of sweet donations every year from members of the public who want to treat children across Edinburgh and surrounding healthcare settings. However, this means it often ends up with far more chocolate than it can use. Early chocolate gifting this year has already given the charity plenty, and it is now asking for monetary donations instead through its 'Selection Box with a Difference'. The selection box offers the public the chance to donate something that will have a real impact. It features different options designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families, such as a vibrating Buzzy Bee that disrupts nerve pathways and eases pain for children receiving injections. Sue Diamond, Community Fundraiser at ECHC, said: “The gesture is so sweet and it’s lovely that the public think about children in hospital over Christmas – that’s exactly what we want to encourage. But the reality of the situation is that we just get so much chocolate that it ends up going off or going to waste. “If the equivalent monetary value was donated to the charity each year, we’d be able to do so much more and put in place experiences, equipment and entertainment that would really last. “What we’re trying to put across with the Selection Box is that we can simply do so much more with financial donations than we can with chocolate. Even small amounts of money all add up and can go towards providing fantastic pieces of medical equipment that will transform treatment and stock playrooms throughout the hospital with games, books and arts and crafts that provide a therapeutic distraction.”

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2EbfKfc