19 December 2023 , 19:52
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A kind-hearted woman is working hard to make sure everyone gets a visit from Santa this year by donating gifts to children and teenagers spending Christmas in hospital.
Volunteering with Christmas for CAHMS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services), 42-year-old Yvette Caster suffers from bipolar disorder, spending much of her teenage years in the CAMHS unit in Wokingham.
With 132 wards and over 1,300 kids spending this festive season on the ward, she wanted to make sure Santa's elves forgot no one this year, ensuring everyone got a gift. Putting together 1,340 gifts this year, Yvette and 70 other volunteers, are working hard to make the day memorable with games, puzzles, and Lego.
She said: "Hospitals can be bleak places, especially at Christmas and, while other children's wards often receive festive donations, CAMHS units are forgotten.The charity is close to my heart as I have bipolar disorder and spent time in a CAMHS unit during my teens.”
"It was the most challenging time of my life. I was given a place at the local mental health unit for children and young people (CAMHS unit).The friends I made there and the support I received from the doctors and nurses probably saved my life.”
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She added: “For me, this is a way of showing children and young people that they're not forgotten at Christmas. Hopefully by sending gifts and decorations, we can brighten their lives just a little."
The team worked hard to make Christmas special for those in need this year (Jam Press/Christmas for CAMHS)Seeing how CAMHS units were often left forgotten over the festive period, Dr Ro Bevan founded the charity in 2016, hoping to add a little joy to the Christmas period.
Sending advent calendars and decorations, as well as gifts, Christmas for CAMHS is hoping to make the difficult season one to remember, even sending cards to the hospital staff and posting festive jokes around the ward. Yvette and the charity are hoping to raise £9,000 this year to improve the ward and have set up a JustGiving page.
There are many ways to support young people spending this festive season in and around hospital this year. With more than 4000 children and young people diagnosed with cancer each year, many will be spending Christmas in hospital, separated from their loved ones.
As they need special treatment they are often admitted to hospitals that can be many miles from their family home - putting an additional burden on family finances. With you support could help pay towards the travelling costs so parents and guardians can be with their loved ones.
This year’s Mirror Christmas Appeal is raising funds for Young Lives vs Cancer - a charity dedicated to helping children and their families living with the disease. When a child is diagnosed with cancer it does not just take an emotional toll on them and their families.
It could mean families so they don’t have to choose between heating or eating this winter while their child receives chemotherapy. And it could help fund overnight accommodation for visiting relatives at one of the Young Lives vs Cancer’s special Homes from Home centres.