Hospice to win from West Ham match

Tuesday 7th February 2012

When Championship leaders West Ham take on second place Southampton at Upton Park they will also be raising awareness of London's oldest children's hospice.

Volunteers from Richard House Children's Hospice will be collecting donations to support the hospice's work, before and after the match.

And players will warm-up in Richard House T-shirts to highlight the name of the hospice in Beckton, east London. It was set up in 2000 and supports more than 250 families caring for children and young people with life-limiting, life-threatening and complex healthcare conditions.

The match-day link-up cements a seven-year relationship between West Ham and the hospice. Each Christmas, players visit the children and young people who stay there and midfielder Mark Noble is also a patron of the hospice. Former West Ham star Joe Cole is also a patron.

Noble said: "We are happy to support Richard House Children's Hospice. We admire the work their care team does, not just in east London, but across the capital. We endeavour to help them as best we can and we hope to do this by raising awareness of them at this special match."

Viv Talbot, community fundraising manager at Richard House, said: "The link-up with West Ham is a very important one for us. It's a wonderful chance for us to get our name noticed and we are grateful to West Ham for all the support they have shown us over the years."

West Ham take on Southampton on February 14 at Upton Park. Kick off is 7.45pm.

Both have Championship games to play before then on February 11. West Ham take on Peterborough United away while Southampton are at home to Burnley

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