Season › 2018-19 › News Blues pay Christmas visit to Alder Hey Thursday, 20 December, 2018 9comments | Jump to most recent Everton's first-team squad delivered festive cheer to Alder Hey Children's Hospital on Wednesday afternoon when Blues manager Marco Silva and his players made their annual Christmas visit to the West Derby facility. Silva, accompanied by his coaching staff and his entire senior squad, visited children and their parents on a number of busy wards including Cardiac & Neonatal, HDU, Specialist Surgery and Burns and handed out a variety of Everton goodies, all donated by the club's official retail partner Fanatics. They also spent time chatting to patients and their families, helping to lift the spirits of those who are set to spend the festive period in hospital. It was Blues boss Silva's first visit to Alder Hey since becoming the Everton manager and he said: “Since I came and joined the club, I soon realised that Everton is more than a club, Everton is a family and today is a perfect example of that. It is important that we come and visit these children and their families at a special time of year and help to put smiles on their faces.” Reflecting after his time on the Cardiac and Neonatal Ward, Blues right-back Seamus Coleman said: “It's very important to come here at this time of year and see the parents and the kids. Some of them have been in here for weeks, some for months and some won't be out over Christmas. Article continues below video content “The hospital is amazing and so are the kids themselves and their parents. They're inspirational. I've got two young girls myself and any parent will tell you your kids are the most important thing in the world. To see how tough the parents are, how strong they are and with smiles on their faces when maybe they've not slept properly for weeks or months because of the worry, they're a credit to themselves and we wish them all the best.” Michael Keane, who was making his second Christmas visit to Alder Hey since joining the Blues in 2017, added: “We all really look forward to this visit, it's really humbling and makes you feel privileged to do what you do and how you can make people feel. It is really nice to come and see not only the kids but their families, too. “Everyone wants to be happy around Christmas time and with your family and friends at home. Some people aren't fortunate enough to be able to do that so we try to make it a little bit more special for them and let them know we are thinking about them. You do take inspiration from visits like this and it puts things into perspective. It makes you realise how lucky you are in the position you are in.” Alder Hey Children's Hospital cares for over 275,000 children, young people and their families every year. As one of Europe's biggest and busiest children's hospitals, they treat everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions. Everton Football Club has a long standing relationship with the local children's hospital with Leighton Baines being an official Alder Hey Patron whilst the club's official charity Everton in the Community has been working in the hospital for over 10 years, running activity workshops at the state-of-the-art hospital five days a week. The healthcare campus, known as Alder Hey in the Park, opened in the Autumn of 2015 following a decade-long project to create a modern, world-class medical facility for the city, with the design inspired by children. Reader Comments (9) 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 Mark Andersson 1 Posted 20/12/2018 at 09:06:28 Its good to hear the players actually feel humbled by tbe experiance... They are very privileged to earn what they earn... Andy Meighan 2 Posted 20/12/2018 at 09:17:15 It was so sad to see their little faces after all the recent heartbreak they've been through... said the kids and their parents when the squad walked in! No, in all seriousness, Marco is right when he says it's more than just a football club – it is a family. I wish all those less fortunate than us a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Coyb Ray Roche 3 Posted 20/12/2018 at 12:42:43 Mark, gestures like this are a world away from the antics of the likes of Pogba, a waste of a human being if ever there was one. John McFarlane Snr 4 Posted 20/12/2018 at 15:05:10 Hi Andy [2], I'm inclined to believe that all football clubs carry out community activities, some more than others, and having spent two spells in hospital this year, I have come to realise and appreciate the sterling work these people do.I don't know the exact moment that the truth struck me, but I do know that, if the worst thing that happens to you this year is that your team lose a few matches, then you can say you've had a good year. I'm sure that each week, someone is heading home from a football match to receive seriously bad news, certainly worse than a 4-0 defeat. I don't enjoy any Everton defeat but I've learned to put it into perspective, and I'm proud to support a club that adopts a caring attitude to the community, irrespective of the varied beliefs, and football allegiances. ps: I'm awaiting my discharge from a medical establishment at the moment. Joe McMahon 5 Posted 20/12/2018 at 18:41:13 Fantastic gesture! Steve Ferns 6 Posted 20/12/2018 at 18:47:26 I remember Davie Weir talking about going to Alder Hey. He implied that he went as often as once per week. He was the captain who succeeded Dave Watson and Watson has taught him what it meant to be captain of Everton. Going to visit sick kids in hospital was not newsworthy. It's what the captain did. Watson did it and Ratcliffe before him. Weir implied that others often went with him.I find it sad that things have now changed and it appears the players go rarely, and do so with a storm of publicity. I prefer the quiet way that successive captains passed on. I wonder who put a stop to this and why. Dermot Byrne 7 Posted 20/12/2018 at 18:58:59 Over played players.The answer?Christ knows? Dave Evans 8 Posted 20/12/2018 at 20:41:23 Hope the players and kids had a good day. John @4 Hope things go well for you when they let you out. Have a good Christmas. John Boswell 9 Posted 21/12/2018 at 08:30:08 So surprised to see Jordan given the responsibility of holding a baby for a photo shoot, lol.Merry Christmas to all true blues and best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year. COYB. 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