Ariana Grande sends gifts from Secret Santa to hundreds of young patients at a hospital in Manchester

Ariana Grande shows that she maintained close ties with Manchester by giving hundreds of young patients in hospitals a £ 100 Amazon voucher at Christmas.

The 27-year-old singer made the generous donation to patients at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary, three years after her concert in the city ended in a devastating bombing that killed 22 people.

The father of one of the patients, identified only as Steve, told Manchester Evening News: ‘As I understand it, she gave every child in the hospital a voucher. I went to pick her up and she was so excited.

‘She said’ look dad, I have a £ 100 voucher from Ariana Grande ‘. It was in a small personalized box, with no message and no note telling who it was. It’s such a lovely gesture and there’s no publicity around it, so you know it’s genuine.

‘It brought a lot of joy after everything that happened with the pandemic this year. It was a difficult year with my hospitalized daughter. The employees there are great and work hard. ‘

The news of Ariana’s gesture came months after her manager, Scotter Braun, revealed that the singer is still ‘suffering’, three years after the attack on Manchester Arena.

A suicide bomber killed 22 and wounded 139 when he detonated a device when people were leaving Ariana’s concert at the Manchester venue on May 22, 2017.

Speaking on the third anniversary of the attack, Scooter explained that the pop star has post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to The Mirror, Scooter, who along with Ariana visited families and wounded at the Royal Manchester children’s hospital in the days after the attack, said: ‘She has PTSD, she is still suffering today.’

In a 2018 interview with British Vogue, Ariana revealed that she had been experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

‘It is difficult to talk about this because many people have suffered such serious and tremendous losses. But, yes, it’s a real thing, ‘she said.

‘I know these families and my fans, and everyone there has experienced a lot of that too. Time is the most important. ‘

‘I feel like I shouldn’t even be talking about my own experience – as if I shouldn’t even be saying anything. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to talk about it and not cry. ‘

Speaking nine months after the attack, Scooter described during an interview that he won the Big Questions with Cal Fussman podcast, how Ariana had cried “for days” after the attack.

“When she found out that her fans had died, she was very sad.

– She cried for days, felt everything – every face they announced, every name, she wore on her sleeve. All emotion because it is like that.

He recalled that peer visits to families in the days after the attack were the ‘two most difficult hours of our lives’.

‘After the first family I had to help her, she was upset and I was lost. It was beyond difficult. But each time we went down, we reminded each other that we should go home.

‘Our loved ones will still be there. That mother will never return home, that daughter will never return, that son will never return, that father will never return. ‘

In May, Ariana shared a heartfelt message to her fans ahead of the three-year anniversary of the attack.

The singer went to Instagram and wrote a touching message to her fans to let them know that her ‘heart’ was with them.

She wrote: ‘I want to take a moment to acknowledge and send my love to everyone who is feeling the sadness and the tremendous weight of the upcoming birthday this week.’

The hitmaker added that the tragic incident continues to have an impact on many today.

She said: ‘Not a day goes by that it doesn’t affect you and all of us yet. I will be thinking about you all week and weekend. My heart, thoughts and prayers are always with you ‘.

The suicide attack by Salman Abedi, 22, occurred on May 22, 2017 and resulted in the death of 22 victims, while 139 people were injured.

Ariana returned to Manchester for the first time in two years in August 2019, when she performed at the Manchester Pride event at the Mayfield Depot.

The star admitted she was ‘nervous’ and ‘overwhelmed’ as she took the stage in the northern city after giving a benefit concert to help the wounded in the attack.

When applauded on stage by hundreds of fans, the award-winning song seemed thrilled to announce: ‘I love Manchester very much, thank you so much for having me back.’

The One Last Time hitmaker continued: ‘I’m very happy to be here with you – that means the world – so thank you for having me.

‘I’m sorry, I’m so nervous, I had a lot more to say, but I’m very excited, so thanks. It is so beautiful, I love you so much. ‘

Before the event, she tweeted: ‘on our way to Manchester pride. I love you very much. I can’t wait to give you all of our love. you are my heart in every way. see you soon. [sic]’

Marking an emotional return, the singer captivated audiences with an acoustic version of her hit single One Last Time, which she re-released as a charity single two years ago after the terrorist attack.

At the time, the special single peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

The star returned to Manchester to head the show One Love in June 2017.

She made the courageous decision to return to the city for the benefit show, which raised more than £ 17 million, and saw the entire audience who attended the previous show.

The show saw all kinds of stars take the stage at Old Trafford’s cricket ground, including Coldplay, Katy Perry, Liam Gallagher, Justin Bieber and Robbie Williams.