The colorful packages brought smiles to the faces of children and parents, which are not easy to come by during hospital treatment.

“This is a very important initiative, because it brings smiles, which are invaluable help in therapy. Children can enjoy the presents and forget that they are in a hospital ward, which involves pain and treatment. We would like to thank everyone for their help, because we probably wouldn't have been able to do it on our own, and thanks to people of good will our patients received a moment of joy, which is so much needed in the hospital,” said Prof. Tomasz Szczepański, head of the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Ward of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 1 in Zabrze.

The Santa Claus campaign is part of the “JSW to Children” program, which has been implemented for many years, with the aim of supporting the neediest children in Upper Silesia. 

The visit of a large, plush guest - the JSW mascot - to the Hematology and Oncology Ward of the Zabrze clinic was an opportunity for the youngest patients to have great fun.

“I think these are moments that my son will remember for the rest of his life. For him, it is important that someone came and remembered about them,” stressed Monika Szymczyk, mother of 12-year-old Szymon, a patient of the ward.

The packages prepared for the patients of the Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Upper Silesian Children's Health Center in Katowice, although prepared for the youngest, included in fact support for the families.

“At such moments, the parents of our little patients see that they are not alone in the suffering that always accompanies a child's serious illness. This support has huge emotional significance for which we are very grateful,” said Wojciech Gumułka, spokesman for the Upper Silesian Children's Health Center in Katowice.