Young Kirkcaldy footballers have said thank you to the NHS with a huge donation of toiletries.
Parents of youngsters in Victoria Hospital’s children’s ward will be able to pick up a grab bag of essentials thanks to members of the Kirkcaldy Inter 2009s team.
The 11 and 12-year-olds raised more than £300 during a difficult year for the club which saw them unable to train for months on end.
They used some of the money to buy team T-shirts bearing the message ‘Thank-you NHS’.
Leave your tribute to Tayside and Fife’s NHS heroes as we say thank you to health workers
The rest was spent on the bags containing shampoo, deoderant, toothpaste and other toiletries.
It means parents who have an unexpected overnight stay with their children in hospital have access to everything they need.
Team member Josh Grieve, 11, has junior arthritis and spent some time on the ward so he knew a donation would be appreciated.
The bags were handed over to staff on Monday.
‘It’s good for team spirit’
Kirkcaldy Inter coach Stuart Cowan said the 14 team members had had a tough few months but had wanted to give something back to NHS workers.
“It’s good for the community and it’s good for team spirit,” he said.
“We weren’t able to play during the lockdown and we’ve only started training again in the last three weeks.
“We were worried the kids would lose interest but they’re a tight-knit wee bunch.
“It’s been tough but to be fair, most of them have been sticking to their own training.”
Stuart said he was delighted by how much the youngsters had raised.
“It was all from donations,” he said.
“It was during the first lockdown and some people were furloughed and everyone had different circumstances.
“A lot of folk were having a hard time so we were really blown away by the total.”
‘No sign of any matches’
Kirkcaldy Inter usually trains at Randolph Playing Fields in Kirkcaldy on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
They’ve added Saturdays to their training schedule for now given matches are still not allowed under lockdown rules.
“We’re not being too hard on them since they returned to training,” said Stuart.
“We’re trying to make it fun because it’s been so tough.
“There’s no sign yet of any matches but we’re hoping to get back to them in the next few weeks.”