Bamber Bridge nursery rallying behind mum's Christmas mission to help families with premature babies

Staff and children at Footprints at School Nursery, based in the grounds of Walton Le Dale High School, will help one of their parents collects items to go in gift bags for families spending Christmas on Royal Preston Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The nursery will also host a Christmas Fair on Saturday, December 7th, from 11am to 2pm, to raise extra funds for the unit and the children will make seasonal decorations to go in the gift bags.

Mya Jackson, nursery manager and mum-of-two, said: "One of our parents, Alex Purdie, asked us if we could help her and we thought it was a lovely idea.

"I was born six weeks early so I was in the neonatal unit for nearly a month when I was a baby. I was only 4lb 2 oz so I was tiny myself.

"It's also close to a couple of staff members' hearts, some of our nursery children were there and one of our little boys was quite poorly when he was born.

"Without that support, life could have been totally different for them."

The 36-year-old added: "The technology the unit has and the job staff do are brilliant. It's amazing what they manage to do, so it feels great to give back and make sure staff receive the thanks and recognition they deserve."

Alex's little boy was born at 30 weeks and was just 2lb 15 oz. But with the help of the Preston unit he is now a healthy five-year-old.

To show her thanks, she began collecting mini-sized and festive-themed donations of chocolates, hats, mittens, keepsakes, teddies, cards, and adult and baby toiletries to support parents facing the same troubles.

And the nursery is encouraging the community to rally behind her by acting as a drop-off point for donations until Friday, December 13th, and has also asked each child to bring in one item.

Mya added: "Christmas is a hard time to travel to the hospital because it's so busy. If I was on the unit and received one of the gifts, I'd be really touched. It's a little bit of comfort and shows that people care.

"You don't realise how many families go through it. It's actually quite common so it's an important cause.

"We asked ourselves what else we could do as a nursery to help so we decided to host the fair and involve the community."

A treasure trove of goodies will be on sale at the event, including cakes, crafts, sweets, toiletries, jewellery and children's books.

There will also be a raffle, tombola, Santa's Grotto, face-painting and a raft of fun children's activities, such as games, a bouncy castle and Christmas crafts. Hot chocolate will be served.

Entry is free for the public while stalls cost £5 each, with all proceeds going to the unit. Early booking is advised as spaces are limited.

To donate an item or book a stall contact the nursery on [email protected] or 01772 627377.