THEY help thousands of the country's sickest children every year and now Yorkhill needs your help.

Today Yorkhill Children's Charity is calling for 400 volunteers to help make a difference to youngsters in hospital for treatment.

From reading stories to a young patient to serving tea to an exhausted parent, helpers can make the difference between a good day and a bad day at Yorkhill.

Douglas Samson, Marketing and Communications Manager at Yorkhill Children's Charity, said: "Quite simply, without the help of volunteers, we could not deliver the world-class care that Yorkhill is renowned for.

"Each one plays a vital role in supporting our young patients, their families, and the charity."

Over the next 18 months, the charity will recruit new volunteers to help across 17 new roles: from play services and family support at the hospital, to the charity's talk service and fundraising events.

The recruitment drive is part of the charity's objective to ensure every patient who attends Yorkhill receives the best possible experience.

Volunteers will spend time with the children to help staff focus on important clinical work.

People of all ages and from all walks of life volunteer at Yorkhill. Many have been touched personally by the world-class care that the hospital provides to Scotland's sick children and want to give something back.

Others may be looking for work experience, a way to spend a few extra hours at the weekend, or to use their professional skills to help others.

Many more feel that although they are retired, they have so much more to give, and enjoy the social benefits that volunteering offers.

In 2015 Yorkhill Hospital will be on the move, when the Royal Hospital for Sick Children moves to the Southern General campus in the south of Glasgow.

Yorkhill Children's Charity will remain firmly at the heart of the hospital after the move, and will require the support of volunteers more than ever to make the transition between buildings as smooth as possible for all patients and families.

Apply to volunteer at Yorkhill Children's Charity at www.yorkhill.org, call 0141 201 6917 or email volunteer@yorkhill.org

ALISON HARROWER spent years of her childhood receiving treatment in Great Ormond Street.

Her inside knowledge of life as a child in hospital has given her empathy with the young people she has met while on a 10-week placement at Yorkhill.

The 21-year-old is about to go into third year of a business degree at Glasgow University, andshe has give her summer to Yorkhill Children's Charity, gaining first hand experience behind the scenes.

Alison's volunteering has seen her help out at Yorkhill's teddy hospital, the charity's sponsored walk and researching.

She said: "I have definitely gained a lot from my placement here and I would recommend to other students that this is a great way to get hands-on experience.

"I have been really impressed by the work of Yorkhill and I have already offered to come back and help them out with anything they might need in the future.

"You can go home knowing you have done something really good with your day."

FOR many of the volunteers at Yorkhill the work is personal.

Brenda and Joseph Rourke have pledged to give their time to the hospital after seeing the help given to their grandson.

Matthew was diagnosed with a brain tumour on April 26 and the 11-year-old is now having treatment in the Schiehallion Ward.

Despite the pressure of helping to care for their other grandchildren, Brenda and Joseph, 70, feel that volunteering is a vital way to give back to the hospital.

Brenda, 67, said: "Matthew is in good spirits and seems to be taking it in his stride but the adults around him are flagging.

"Yorkhill is an amazing place and we're keen to give them any help and support that we can."

Brenda is female captain of Cathcart Castle Golf Club and had chosen Yorkhill as the club's charity before Matthew's diagnosis.

Now that she has seen the work of the hospital first hand she is determined to keep fundraising.

She added: "They are fantastic. The work they do is amazing."

NIAMH LOGAN was just shy of her second birthday when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).

The tot had been unwell for some time, but it wasn't until an emergency trip to Wishaw General that she was diagnosed with ALL.

Niamh, now seven and in remission, was whisked to Yorkhill where she began what would be two years of chemotherapy and 24 lumbar punctures.

Her dad, John, said: "We'd taken Niamh back and forward to her GP and she'd have several courses of antibiotics but she just became worse and worse.

"The diagnosis was a shock but you only spent about five minutes reeling and then, somehow, you just get on with things.

"You're suddenly try to live life and hold down a job while looking after your number one priority, your sick child."

John's response to Niamh's illness was to feel a huge debt of gratitude to Yorkhill, where the schoolgirl still goes for regular checks.

It was natural for him to give his time to volunteer and he's now in the Yorkhill Talk Service team and fundraises by open water swimming.

He also donates platelets every three months after seeing Niamh receive platelet donations as part of her treatment.

The 48-year-old, from Hamilton, added: "I would actively encourage people to get involved with the Talk Service.

"It's a great team and you see the public reaction and surprise when you go out to groups and tell people all about the charity and what it does.

"The hospital is wonderful. I really mean that genuinely. There's something about the name Yorkhill that fills you with the sense of confidence that you're going to get the best treatment for your child."