Image gallery and reaction as members of the first team squad visit Bolton Hospice
Seven of the club’s first team stars paid a visit to Bolton Hospice on Tuesday afternoon to hand out gifts to those who will be using the facility over the festive period.
An instrumental organisation within the local community, Bolton Hospice was established in 1992 and provides free palliative care for people facing life-limiting illnesses.
A frequent port of call for the Wanderers’ squad, the group which included Tim Ream, Adam Bogdan, Andy Lonergan, Craig Davies, Darren Pratley, Joe Mason and Joe Riley delivered presents to the patrons of the hospice’s day unit and spent the afternoon in their company.
Alongside this, the players also visited a selection of long-term patients who remain at the hospice on a permanent basis and require round the clock care as provided by the staff who also joined in with the festivities.
Speaking following the visit, Joe Riley explained how he has first-hand experience of how crucial services such as Bolton Hospice can be, particularly at this time of year.
“Having seen my grandma spend time in a hospice like this, I know how important they are to elderly people and also how hard the staff here work,” he said. “It’s a really great place and it was a great experience to come down here and spend some time with some lovely people.”
Adam Bogdan echoed his teammate’s sentiments, adding, “It’s such a great experience to come down to places like this – we only have to take a little time out of our day and it seems to make people happy, so that makes it all worthwhile.
“The people we met were lovely – I even met a lady who had a house in my homeland of Hungary. It’s not common in England to have that kind of link with anybody, so to meet her and the other people at the hospice was fantastic."
For more information on Bolton Hospice, visit their website by clicking here: http://www.boltonhospice.org.uk/