FIFTY festive reindeers are winging their way to children in hospital this Christmas.

Haskins Garden Centre in West End, Southampton, has donated 50 reindeer toys to Southampton Hospital’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

The toys will be given as a gift to children receiving care there.

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Darryl McMahon, Assistant General Manager of Haskins West End, said: "The whole team at Haskins is delighted that we are continuing to support local charities through our Christmas toy donations this year.

"Our West End centre is closely connected to the local community, and it brings myself and the team immense pride that we have been able to build on our strong relationship with Southampton’s PICU to bring some festive magic to the children’s ward this Christmas."

Kerry Houghton, Operations Manager for Friends of PICU, added: "We’d like to say an enormous thank you to Haskins West End for their incredible donation of cuddly reindeer soft toys for all the children in PICU in the lead up to Christmas. The ongoing support from Haskins West End is so very much appreciated, and these reindeers are going to bring smiles to many faces."

In total, Haskins has donated 300 cuddly toys to charities across the south this festive season, to support and share festive goodwill to communities that are local to its centres.

Haskins has five garden centres across the South of England and is celebrating 140 years in the horticultural industry this year.

Friends of PICU supports children and their families on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Southampton Children’s Hospital at the University Hospital Southampton.

Southampton PICU is one of only 11 designated ECMO centres in the UK and is the regional lead centre for critically ill children aged from newborn to 18 years. The children are admitted from 27 referring hospitals across the South of England and the Channel Islands, and from the various children’s wards at Southampton Hospital. Over 1,000 children are admitted each year for specialist care by the skilled and dedicated team.

 

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