Schools urged to join Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity's Big Christmas Door Appeal

The Edinburgh Childrens Hospital Charity aims to make Christmas joyful for kids stuck in a ward over the festive season. Picture: Rob McDougall.

Now, schools in Edinburgh are being offered the chance to help create a ‘living’ advent calendar for children in hospital, whose treatment will see them confined to the wards over the festive period.

While visits from family can make Chrismas Day seem a bit more normal for them, nothing cheers up a youngster battling illness than twinkling decorations, a party atmosphere and knowing that others are thinking of them.

The Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s (ECHC) Big Christmas Door Appeal will see a different door in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) open each day until Christmas Eve, with a special surprise behind each one.

With visits from the Scottish Ballet in their Cinderella costumes and from Hearts and Hibs football teams, the charity is ensuring that children undergoing treatment have a smile on their face this Christmas.

The charity is urging schools in Edinburgh to get involved by decorating classroom doors to create a magical Christmas wonderland and raise funds for those less fortunate than themselves.

Schools can then take photos of the artistically styled doors and share the pictures across social media channels by using the hashtag #bigchristmasdoors.

Sue Diamond, community fundraising manager at ECHC, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to unite the whole school in something that’s creative and fun over the festive period. Not only will the children in school be having fun, they’ll be learning that they can make a real difference to other people’s lives in the process.

“In decorating the doors, the schools will be sending out an important and powerful message that children still need creative and fun stimulation while they’re in hospital.”

She added: “It’s a lovely, warm gesture from child to child in support of those who will be receiving treatment in hospital over the Christmas period.

“Christmas is a time for family and joy, and thanks to the support of schools in the local area, we’ll be able to raise vital funds to support and complement the work of the RHSC, as well as other children’s healthcare settings across Scotland.” ECHC believes that nothing should get in the way of being a child and the charity exists to transform the experiences of children and young people in hospital, so they can be a child first and a patient second.

The charity works throughout the year to make sure that children and young people’s lives are less interrupted by illness.

It distributes around £1.5 million per year in support of the work of the RHSC and other children’s healthcare settings across Scotland.