Season › 2017-18 › News Wayne Rooney visits Claire House Children's Hospice Friday, 15 December, 2017 17comments | Jump to most recent Everton star Wayne Rooney was the special guest during this year’s Christmas visit to Claire House Children’s Hospice. Fanatic Evertonian families from across the North West, who attend the Bebington-based hospice for respite and support throughout the year, turned up in their droves to meet the former England captain along with Club Ambassador Graeme Sharp,one-on-one to pose for photos, get plenty of autographs and receive an early Everton Christmas present during the visit.  Whilst there, the 32-year-old footballer also visited one of the interactive play rooms at the children’s hospice where he got to the chance to have a kickabout with a bit of a difference with some of the children and their siblings whilst also learning a bit more about the work the staff do around the clock for the children and the families they work with.  “It’s been really nice to come and try and put a few smiles on the kids and their families faces, especially around Christmas,” said Rooney. “It’s always great if we can do that, meet them and hopefully make them smile.” He added: “I’ve seen the work they do here, it’s incredible, not just for the kids but the parents and the brothers and sisters too. They really do make a massive difference so it’s important that I give my support and that we also keep trying to raise money because the work they do needs funding.”  The hospice cares for children everyday who are seriously and terminally ill and the staff work hard to make sure they can live life to the full by creating wonderful experiences and memories, with days just like today. The staff, which includes nurses, physiotherapists, play specialists, counsellors and dedicated doctors, especially try to bring back a sense of normality to the families’ lives, helping them to smile through the toughest of times by providing not only specialist nursing care but emotional support as well. Rebecca Flood is mum to Sophia, one of the young patients who uses the children’s hospice, she suffers from Cockayne Syndrome which is a premature ageing disorder meaning she will age very rapidly with a shortened life expectancy, Rebecca spoke to evertontv about what the children’s hospice means to their family, she said: “Claire House do everything for us as a family, they give us a break and we just have so much fun when we’re here. Article continues below video content “They do so much for our boys as well, I think the main thing is they just make everything a lot easier for us and we’re able to make special memories together with days like this.”  Lauren Luxton, Marketing and Communications Officer for the hospice, thanked Everton for their continued support, helping to make memories for the families they work with and said: “Year on year Everton continue to give their support to the local community and nowhere more so than Claire House Children’s Hospice. This is always a visit we look forward to here at Claire House and our Evertonian families couldn’t believe it was Wayne that they were going to meet, I can’t express how much it would have meant to the children to get to spend one-on-one time with someone like Wayne.  “We are always so grateful to Everton for helping us to raise awareness of the work we do, so we have a better chance of being able to care for every family on Merseyside that needs us.” Everton has been supporting Claire House for a number of years now with regular visits from first-team players and our Club Ambassadors, giving them chance learn about the work that goes on at Claire House as well as being able to meet the special children and their siblings who use its services throughout the year. To learn more about Claire House Children’s Hospice and to see how you could make a donation to support their work, please click here. Reader Comments (17) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Jamie Evans 1 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:12:34 Good man, Wayne. We really do get so many things right off the pitch. Long may it continue. Ian Burns 2 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:13:40 Such a heartwarming article – has given me a real lift this evening.This is the sort of publicity we wish to see, Wayne – well done you. Brent Stephens 3 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:19:21 Great work. John McFarlane 4 Posted 15/12/2017 at 20:40:18 This is the acceptable face of football; well done, Wayne and Everton. Mark Riding 5 Posted 15/12/2017 at 21:06:05 Is right, Wazza. Tony Everan 6 Posted 15/12/2017 at 21:09:31 Well done, Wayne and Sharpie, the club does some excellent work outside the football world. The difference between any old football club and a great one. Phil (Kelsall) Roberts 7 Posted 15/12/2017 at 22:16:29 I am not having a moan after something as good as this but making a positive suggestion.All gifts to charity are tax deductible. Could you imagine the difference to Clare House of all the players gave 10% of their December pay to Clare House.Clare House would benefit and the positive publicity for the players would be huge.Maybe they all are doing this already – if so even more praise. Matthew Williams 8 Posted 15/12/2017 at 23:21:19 More great work from our great club... kinda puts things into perspective like.There is more to life than mere football! Terry Underwood 9 Posted 16/12/2017 at 10:32:02 It is heartbreaking to see kids in this condition. They are, without exception, brave and cheerful. Also spare a thought for the families who must try to put a brave face on things, all the while knowing that your child is dying. Those of us with healthy kids should be very grateful. Colin Glassar 10 Posted 16/12/2017 at 10:54:16 I was made up when Wayne returned but, after a disastrous start (the team, not him) to the season, his off-field infidelities and the turmoil after the Koeman disaster, I thought he'd probably leave in January or in the summer and his return would end badly.Now he's captain, is on fire, has saved his marriage, and is becoming a great ambassador for the club. Keep up the good work, Wayne, lad. Brent Stephens 11 Posted 16/12/2017 at 12:44:15 This is a sobering piece. And another sobering piece, on how players' careers can be cruelly cut short, is in the Guardian today, on Abdelhak Nouri, the superbly-gifted young Ajax player who this year suffered severe and permanent brain damage. LinkHis sublime skills can be seen on YouTube. Well worth a look. Clive Mitchell 12 Posted 17/12/2017 at 00:05:17 Well done, Wayne, class act. Steve Ferns 13 Posted 17/12/2017 at 14:13:03 That was a harrowing read, Brent. He seems to have been a great young man who was making a difference and could have made an even bigger difference to the city of Amsterdam, particularly with their troubles. It seems there's no hope for him, but he deserves a miracle.Why is it that over the last 20 years so many young men have been struck down by such serious illness or worse? Is it anything to do with the increased demands of football? It seems to me that before Kanu, I'd never heard of anything like this happening to a young athlete in peak physical condition. Brent Stephens 14 Posted 17/12/2017 at 14:34:25 And, Steve, Ugo Ehiougu, though 44, was still a tragic loss this year. The striking thing about Nouri was his grounded and generous approach to life and others, despite his precocious talents and a glittering career waiting for him. Was it Muamba who collapsed with a heart attack on the pitch not that long ago? Career-ending. Raymond Fox 16 Posted 18/12/2017 at 08:22:39 Yes, well done Wayne and Everton.It brings a tears to the eyes thinking about terminal children.Quite how parents cope with the situation, I cant imagine. David Hallwood 17 Posted 18/12/2017 at 12:19:04 To be fair to Wayne he's always been a supporter of Alder Hey but doesn't get any headlines for it- probably doesn't ask for them. In any case the tabloids want Rooney caught with reality TV star as opposed to Rooney donates expensive hospital equipment to alder hey. Doesn't sound as racy Dave Evans 18 Posted 21/12/2017 at 14:37:48 Thank you Wayne and Clare House. Thoughts with the children, parents and staff. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads