Duke of Edinburgh students from Riverwalk School, in Bury St Edmunds, deliver Easter eggs to West Suffolk Hospital’s Rainbow Ward
Easter eggs delivered by pupils from a special school in Bury St Edmunds will bring ‘joy’ to a hospital’s children’s ward.
The eggs were collected by a group of 10 students from Riverwalk School and presented to West Suffolk Hospital’s Rainbow Ward yesterday.
It was part of the students’ work towards their Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) and the eggs were donated by parents and school staff.
Christa Blake, Duke of Edinburgh manager at Riverwalk, said: “We are very thankful to West Suffolk Hospital for being part of our Duke of Edinburgh story and hope that the donation of these Easter eggs brings smiles to the patients on Rainbow Ward.”
Kylie Richmond, interim ward manager for Rainbow Ward, said: “Thank you to the staff and students at Riverwalk for their kind donation.
“The support we receive from the local community makes a massive difference to our patients, their families, and staff. These Easter eggs will bring a lot of joy to Rainbow Ward.”
Laura Nudds, play specialist at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said: “A donation like this really does make a difference to our patients and their families, making what is sometimes a scary time just a little bit brighter.
“The students came up with the idea themselves, and we are incredibly lucky that they chose to support us. We are so grateful for Riverwalk’s donation, and the school’s visit to the hospital made our day!”
This is the first year Riverwalk School has launched the DofE programme and one of the sections is volunteering.
The national award creates ways to embark on fun and exciting opportunities to learn new skills, help people, get active and rise to new challenges.
Christa said they were ‘delighted’ that the programme was fully adaptable and inclusive for all making it accessible for their students.
She said: “It’s been a busy but fulfilling year.
“We would like to thank the parents for their support, our CEO Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne for introducing the programme to our school, our DofE operations office Jenny Simpson who has been a fountain of knowledge, the staff at Riverwalk for their continued support and hard work to make the programme work, but mostly the students for rising to the challenge and making us, but more importantly themselves, proud every day.”
Riverwalk student Edward Allinson said: “The only things you can't do are just things you haven't tried yet.”
The Riverwalk students in the photos include: Edward Allinson, Morgan Knappett, Alfie Schultheiss, Dominic Shortland, Jake Brooks, Jayden Dawson, Zachary Killen, Callum Walton, Janathan Phipps and Dayne Fitzgerald.
Riverwalk School is part of the Consortium Trust.
