Children's hospital to receive year-round support from CITC

In partnership with

Manchester City F.C.

·4 de noviembre de 2025

Children's hospital to receive year-round support from CITC

Manchester City’s charity, City in the Community (CITC), has launched a new year-round programme to support patients and their families at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH).

Following a successful pilot year, ‘City Onside’ will now expand to reach over 250 patients and their families, thanks to funding from Manchester City’s ‘Christmas Together’ campaign.

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Sessions support physical and mental wellbeing, as well as education and skills development for patients, their siblings, parents and carers.

The programme’s four key workstreams are:

Support for siblings: creating a space for patients and their siblings to play and learn together, which is not otherwise always possible for inpatients.
Family engagement Hubs: a holistic approach to family support for the youngest patients, bringing together mental health support and physical activity for under 5’s.
Transition mentoring: bespoke mentoring programme for young people aged 8-18 who have long-term involvement with the RMCH. CITC staff focus on supporting transition from hospital into various positive outcomes, such as education or community provisions.
Parental Hubs: group mentoring for parents, creating a space away from the hospital ward to chat with other parents, CITC coaches and RMCH staff.

Commenting on the launch, City in the Community CEO, Mike Geary, said:

“City in the Community and Manchester City has a long-standing relationship with the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, but I am incredibly proud to announce our first ever year-round programme for patients.

“Being able to take our sessions to young people who might not otherwise be able to access them is incredibly important.

“The programme has been designed in consultation with the hospital, its patients and their families, meaning ‘City Onside’ is a completely bespoke offering.

“We would like to thank Manchester City for supporting this important initiative through the 2025 festive campaign.”

The new ‘Christmas Together’ campaign creates an opportunity for fans to team up with the Club to support ‘City Onside’. For every purchase a fan makes from a range of selected retail items, the Club will donate £5 to its charity*.

This year’s Christmas retail shop is open now, in store and online, featuring new festive gifts for 2025. Items which include a £5 donation to City in the Community through the ‘Christmas Together’ campaign are:

Adult Christmas Jumper (Novelty and Fair Isle)
Kids Christmas Jumper
Wolf Plush
Elf Plush
Teddy Plush

enter the prize draw

Manchester City is also matching any donations* made to the charity through the ‘City in the Community Prize Draw’, meaning fans can double their chances to win amazing prizes.

Entries start at £5 per ticket; supporters can enter on a one-off basis, or they can sign up to a direct debit, meaning they enter the monthly draw automatically. To take part in the prize draw, or to find out more, visit: www.mancity.com/citcprizedraw.

For more information about ‘Christmas Together’ visit www.mancity.com/ChristmasTogether.

City in the Community empowers healthier lives through football.

To find out more, visit www.mancity.com/citc or follow @citcmancity on social media.