Pittsburgh Penguins players made a surprise visit to patients at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Monday afternoon and delivered over $6,000 worth of toys. The visit was initiated by several members of the team who wanted to make the holidays a little brighter for children who were faced with spending time away from home.
Penguins players donated the money that was used to purchase the toys. Toys were given to dozens of patients throughout the hospital, with a special emphasis placed on children in the oncology and transplant units. Several items, including two Wii video gaming systems and accessories, were donated to the playrooms at the facility for groups of children to enjoy.
“We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time at home with our families over the holidays,” said Penguins defenseman Hal Gill, who came up with the idea. “We realized that there are a lot of kids out there who aren’t going to be able to spend Christmas at home because of illness and we wanted to make sure their holiday was special.”
Photo and video coverage of the visit is available at www.pittsburghpenguins.com.
In addition to Monday’s surprise holiday visit, the Penguins will make their annual team visit to Children’s Hospital in February.