The Child Health Department at NHS Shetland has received a donation of toys from Cooke Scotland to comfort youngsters who are staying in hospital at Christmas and throughout the new year.
More than 100 gifts, games, dolls, colouring and reading books and more were donated through the Community Benefit Fund as part of Cooke’s commitment to the communities we call home.
Cooke has supported the Child Health Department at the Gilbert Bain Hospital with a donation for the last three years and 2024’s contribution will also see the gifts distributed among children waiting in the Accident and Emergency Department, and young people in the community with long-term health conditions who need regular care such as injections.
Hospital Children’s Nurse, Jan Howard, said: “We want to say a huge thank you to Cooke Scotland for all the toys and activities donated to the hospital.
“The gifts will significantly help children cope with being in the hospital, providing comfort and distraction during what can be painful or stressful procedures. There is also enough to support the children requiring longer term care or waiting in Accident and Emergency. Since we have no budget for toys, we deeply value and appreciate this generous contribution.”
Children in the Gilbert Bain Hospital expressed their pleasure in receiving some items from the donation. Lauren, age six, was delighted with her doll from the film Frozen, an activity book and pens, while a young boy who received a Minecraft Lego set and slime, said: “Thank you for looking after me, the toys make me happy.”
Yell Processing Factory Manager at Cooke Scotland, Christine Nicholson, said: “It’s a very worthwhile cause and it’s amazing to think about how many children the toys will support in their time of need.
“Bringing positive change in the areas where we operate is at the heart of what we do at Cooke Scotland. If a toy or activity book can take a child’s mind off being in the hospital and make it a little less frightening, we are more than pleased to support them. I really enjoyed being involved in the Cooke toy donation to the hospital.”
Ms Howard was accompanied by Community Children’s Nurse, Jenn Henderson and Cooke employees, Ms Nicholson and Emma Grains, Communications Coordinator, to select the toys at Harry’s Toy Shop in Lerwick on 9 December. Shop Manager, Stewart Jamieson, kindly offered a discount on the purchase and store assistant, Lynsey, helped the team tally up the toys and pack them into environmentally friendly Cooke canvas bags.
As one of the leading Scottish salmon producers, Cooke is one of Shetland’s largest employers with seawater and freshwater sites across Unst, Yell and the mainland, and a processing facility in Mid Yell.
Cooke’s core purpose is ‘To cultivate the ocean with care, nourish the world, provide for our families, and build stronger communities’.
Photographs – Photo 1 (from left to right) Jan Howard, NHS Shetland Hospital Children’s Nurse; Christine Nicholson, Cooke Scotland Yell Processing Factory Manager; Jenn Henderson, NHS Shetland Community Children’s Nurse; and Lynsey Henry, Harry’s Toy Shop Manager.
Photo 2 – Lauren, age 6, with her new toys at the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.