Facebook campaign for gifts leads to huge response - and enough presents for the whole year

Health Care Assistant, Jessica Murphy, wrote a post on her Facebook profile page asking for gifts to give to the male patients on the Care of the Elderly ward.

As well as receiving enough items, such as shower gels and crossword books, for each of the 25 patients on the ward at Christmas, she now has enough to share for the whole year.

Jessica said: “I decided to post a message asking for men’s toiletries and puzzle books and I also posted this on a couple of car boot pages and got 157 likes and 156 shares – I couldn’t believe the response”.

“I was overwhelmed by people’s generosity. It’s great to know there are still nice people out there.”

Ward sister, Michelle McNeal, said: “Christmas Day was lovely and we are really grateful to Jess for getting the presents.

“The amount of gifts was overwhelming and we have lots left over which means we can now give these out to patients throughout the year.

“All the patients were really appreciative of the gesture.

“One of our patients sadly had no friends or family to visit him on Christmas Day.

“When he received his bag plus cards from the ward and nearby Happy Days nursery, he burst into happy tears.”

Jessica added: “All the staff will pick up small items throughout the year such as shower gels and shampoos, but the donations were a massive help. It’s nice to prove that someone is thinking about the patients. We are so grateful to everyone that helped.”