Cardiff Blues fans will have the chance to have Christmas presents wrapped by their rugby heroes this weekend.
Cardiff Blues fans will have the chance to have Christmas presents wrapped by their rugby heroes this weekend.
Players will be wrapping presents purchased in the superstore at Cardiff City Stadium in the lead-up to their crucial Heineken Cup game against Northampton Saints on Sunday.
Fans will be asked to make a donation in aid of the Marie Curie Hospice in Penarth – the Blues’ adopted charity for the next year.
The hospice offers a wide range of services for people who suffer from life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, set in a modern, friendly and welcoming atmosphere. In-patients receive expert care 24 hours a day from a range of specialists who work as a team to help maximise quality of life. Nursing staff ratios are three times higher than in a hospital and friends and families are able to visit any time of day without restriction.
Cardiff Blues chief executive Robert Norster said: “We are delighted to have the Marie Curie Cancer Care Hospice as our chosen charity for the coming year.
“The staff are promoting what is a most worthy charitable cause, helping people suffering from an illness that has touched most of our lives in some way.
“As many will have seen, our players have work fuchsia pink shirts over the past couple of seasons to raise awareness of cancer research.”
Karen Jones, Community Fundraising Manager at the Marie Curie Cancer Care Hospice said: “We are delighted that Cadiff Blues have chosen to support us as their charity of the year. Our hospice receives funding from local NHS authorities, but we have to find well over half of the daily running costs and all of the hospice development costs from charitable donations.
“Last year the Marie Curie Hospice, Penarth cost approximately £3.9m to run. This year, costs will increase and although we will receive around 40% of this from the NHS, we still have to raise well over half of our daily running costs. The help and support we receive from fundraising helps us to continue to care for as many patients as possible.”
Blues players will be wrapping presents at the stadium club shop from 2pm on Sunday, one hour before kick-off.
Other Cardiff Blues staff will also be getting involved in the fund-raising activities. Sponsorship manager Martyn Bicknell will be joining 35 other local people on a seven-day hike along the Great Wall of China in 2011, to show his support for the Blues charity of the year.