The Canberra Hospital paediatric ward was filled with cheesy grins and excited giggles today!
The Royal Canberra Show and Canberra FM delivered young hospital patients some show bags and brought a whole lot of laughter and smiles to their day.
Nine-year-old Abbey was smiling from ear to ear after choosing her Kawaii themed show bag and told Canberra Daily she โfeels happyโ.
For Abbey, her favourite item in her bag was the โsquishy stickerโ.
โIโm glad that this hospital is doing this and giving kids these gift bags because itโs making other kids feel great,โ she said. โIt makes me feel calm and relaxed.โ
Three-year-old Max loved his โBlippiโ bag, while four-year-old Archie was stoked with his โBlueyโ bag, and three-year-old Angelina was bouncing with excitement over her โMinnie Mouse โbag.
Royal Canberra Show CEO Geoff Cannock was at the Canberra Hospital to witness the childrenโs joy and said the Show commits to gifting show bags every year because โpart of our job is putting a smile on childrenโs facesโ.
Mr Cannock said seeing children light up with happiness when they come to the Show is what motivates many of their 800 volunteers. So, to be able to spread some cheer to children who are unable to be there in person is โwonderfulโ.
โThatโs why we do it,โ he said.
Delivering the show bags in person makes him feel like heโs from the โadvantaged part of society,โ Mr Cannock said.
โIt makes me feel that Iโm well off, to be honest. The kids here have so many problems that Iโve never had to confront in my life, nor of my children, nor of my grandchildren,โ he said.
โSo, this is just a great exercise. Show bags are so much a part of Australian cultural heritage in terms of agricultural shows โ itโs the only place in the world that do show bags.
โTodayโs a fun day with kids who sometimes might have days where thereโs not a lot of fun.โ
Canberra Hospital nurse manager for paediatrics, Donna Cleary, said spending time in hospital can be challenging for young people and their families, especially if youโre missing out on the experience of going to the Show.
Ms Cleary said the gifted show bags are a โvery welcome distractionโ for children and their families, leaving children in less pain and in happier moods.
Josh, from Canberra FM, said itโs great to โbring some normalcy to kids who are going through some of the toughest stuff a kid can go throughโ.
Happily, this morningโs special delivery made the day of many young patients at Canberra Hospital.
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