West Ham United captain Mark Noble, manager David Moyes and players Andy Carroll, Aaron Cresswell, James Collins and Winston Reid have all shown their support for the Richard House #OneHour campaign.
The group took time out from hosting a Richard House Children’s Hospice Christmas Party at London Stadium to pledge their support for the unique initiative.
The #OneHour campaign sees the Beckton based hospice ask those who can to give the gift of one hour of their pay this December to make a real difference to the seriously ill children they care for every day.
Donating is easy - simply go to richardhouse.org.uk/onehour/ then use the wage calculator to find your hourly wage and click donate.
£13 could help buy seasonal goodies that meet our seriously ill children’s often complex dietary needs so they can join in the festive fun, or £32 could go towards for music therapy to help a child with a breathing tube communicate through sound.
“Every time I visit Richard House I am always amazed at the warmth and care there,” said long time Richard House Children’s Hospice patron and supporter Noble. "The children’s happiness and laughter is genuinely inspiring and a lot of them are real characters who you never forget.
“It was great doing some arts and crafts with them and I was told that £8 enables these kids to be able to make the Christmas cards and presents their families to treasure.
"So I am supporting and donating to the #OneHour campaign. It is such a simple idea; that however small or big your donation is, I know it will make a big difference to the seriously ill children and their families at Richard House. I hope you too will donate what you can.”
Kirsty Blair, Head of Care at Richard House, said: “Mark’s donation could buy a weekend respite stay for a child, to give their family a much needed break to recuperate and be there for all the family.
"Every donation, every #OneHour counts to us and will make sure we can be there for families in 2018.”
Richard House CEO, Chris Baker, said: “When a child is diagnosed with a serious life limiting condition, the whole family is thrown into turmoil.
"We are here to support them through these difficult times, and continue to do so even after their child has died.
"With the majority of our funding coming from donations, this year we need to raise £3 million to continue looking after seriously ill children and their families.
"We ask that you donate #OneHour of your pay today, so we can continue being there for hundreds of children and their families across east London.”
