16 Nov 2017 – This Christmas hundreds of older people will have to stay in hospital because they are not well enough to go home. Could you donate a present to help make someone’s Christmas special?

Once again UHL Volunteers Services is joining forces with Age UK Leicestershire & Rutland and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust to encourage local people to donate presents for our older patients too poorly to leave hospital this Christmas.

Following the success of this campaign in previous years, we want you to help us make Christmas Day special again this year.

How to donate
It’s really easy! Just print off a gift tag for the campaign (link below), before attaching it to a small gift bag filled with goodies! You don’t need to spend a lot of money to make someone smile – we suggest items add up to no more than £10. Full details below on our poster. Please put our poster up in your place of work. Please place your gifts into a gift bag, do not wrap up the gifts.

We have listed a few recommended items, plus items we are unable to accept. We would appreciate it if these lists could be followed as it helps our Volunteers when they check and distribute the gifts.

Where to donate
You can take your gift bag to the main receptions at one of our three hospitals – Glenfield, the General and Royal Infirmary – and any of the Age UK shops, resource centres and offices across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will accept gifts for our elderly patients.

Last donations accepted in the three main hospital receptions and the AGE UK shops and resource centres on Thursday 14 December 2017.

Suggested gifts

Lip balms, hand lotions, foot lotions, hand wipes, Soaps, body wash or deodorant, Slipper socks or bed socks, Chocolates, biscuits, sweets, cereal bars, Halal / Indian sweets (not homemade), Cordials, original, herbal or flavoured tea-bags, hot chocolate or coffee sachets, Pens, pencils, notepads, notelets, cards, books and puzzle books

To prevent infection: we will only be able to accept new items in their original packaging and gifts placed in a gift bag and not wrapped in paper. All purchased food products must be in a sealed package and still in date.

Unfortunately we are not able to accept edible homemade gifts (cakes, sweets etc), electrical items, used books, DVDs or VHS tapes; denominational or religious material.