The West Ham players spread joy and compassion this holiday season

For West Ham life isn’t always about football. It’s about giving back to the communities that give some much to them. Over the past two weeks, the players did just that.

You see, football in East London and more specifically around West Ham is life. That form of life gets born every matchday and at its sole, the fans and community surrounding the club. This year the club that gets its drive from the fans, gave back in a few different ways.

On Tuesday the West Ham United’s Players’ Project headed out into the community and over to Newham Hospital to surprise the young children staying there. Five senior club players (Pablo Fornals, Manu Lanzini, Roberto, Ben Johnson, and Cardoso) made the trek as well as Academy stars Peter Stroud and Anouar Mhassani.

Once there they took the afternoon to greet the kids and their families all while giving out some Hammers themed gift bags. The players went with the support of Barts Charity who dedicates their time to that hospital in making sure every child has a gift for the holidays.

Pablo Fornals was quoted saying:

"“It’s good for us, and it is good for the families, to know that West Ham is with them. Christmas is the best moment for us to come and meet with families and show our support. These boys and girls are here in not their best moment and if we come here with happy things, it is good for them. It’s a little thing we can do and there are a lot of gifts for the children and I think that they are enjoying them.”"

In addition to that, last week on Wednesday evening, both Pablo Zabaleta and Winston Reid took some time out of their days to visit the Richard House in London. The Richard house is a facility that provides care for seriously ill children and their families.

If only for a few hours, you could see the joy on the children’s faces as they made crafts and hung out with the veteran Hammers players. The two senior players were joined by Academy players, Josh Okotcha and Jake Giddings.

Both of these stories are more meaningful than probably either you or I can imagine. What these kids must feel when they see EPL stars come and spend time with them, that’s unforgettable. However, that’s not all as the Hammers were back at it again yesterday. This time, at the London Stadium.

Yesterday West Ham opened its doors to the homeless people living in the local community. Both the players and the West Ham Foundation opened the London Stadium and offered free haircuts, food, clothes, and support as well as maybe a few FIFA 20 matches.

Fabianski, Nobes, Fabian Balbuena, and Albian Ajeti were on the scene helping cut hair, serve food, and just provide emotional support to the locals in their time of need. It’s the little things in life that can sometimes go a long way and there’s no doubt that today changed someone’s life.

It’s far too often that we can let ourselves get wrapped up in the game itself and realize that there is so much more to it than just that. It’s amazing to see the support the Hammers have from their fans but in return, the support that they are willing to hand out to the community. Because after all, West Ham is life and West Ham is family.