Members of the first team squad paid a visit to Jigsaw Hospice on Wednesday afternoon to bring some early Christmas cheer to the staff and children with a delivery of presents and gifts courtesy of donations made by United’s directors and players.
Colin West, Jamie Devitt, Danny Grainger, Reggie Lambe and Shaun Miller popped along to make the delivery, fresh from their Tuesday night success in the FA Cup, and they were kept busy with plenty of games to play and activities to test their skills.
Assistant manager Colin West said: “We’ve built up a bit of a friendship with Jigsaw in recent months and we want that to continue. I know some of the players have been coming along in their own time because we all recognise the good work that goes on here.
“It was nice to be able to bring some gifts along and you could tell that the children were really pleased to see us. We’d like to thank Jigsaw for making us feel so welcome once again.”
Midfielder Jamie Devitt said: “We were really nervous about coming to the Hospice a few months ago, but now that we’ve seen the positive impact we have when we do come, it’s a case of us wanting to be here as much as possible.
“We just hope that by helping to raise the profile of the work everyone does here that it will, in turn, help the Hospice to raise more funds, which are vital to the services they provide.”
Captain Danny Grainger said: “The lads do a lot of community visits, but I don’t think anyone will mind when I say that this is always one of the favourites. Jigsaw is a magnificent place, simply because of the dedication of the staff and the attitude of the children and their families, and the work they do is second to none.
“The children always get excited when we’re here and I know they talk about the visit for days after. This is one of the best Christmas presents any of us have given this year.”
For more information on Jigsaw Hospice visit https://www.jigsawhospice.org/