Titans spread cheer at Radio Lollipop

The Jetstar Gold Coast Titans have helped put smiles on the faces of a group of sick children after paying a special visit to Radio Lollipop at the Gold Coast Hospital on Wednesday night.

Jetstar Titans NRL squad members David Mead, Kevin Gordon, Matt White and BenRidgeall took time out from their preparations for Saturday night's clash against Canberraat SkilledParkto visit the children's ward at Gold Coast Hospital.

The players helped the children with some arts and craft before signing posters and giving out Titans merchandise packs. They then walked through the wards to say hello and help put a smile on the faces of the children who were unable to visit the Radio Lollipop studio.

The visit proved the perfect tonic for a 16-year-old Gold Coast rugby league player named Ben, who recently suffered a serious injury playing the sport.

"It's a really good feeling seeing the smile on the kids faces,'' said young winger David Mead

"When you do this stuff you appreciate the sort of lifestyle that you have.

"Every day we are going to training and then back to home and not realising what else is going on.

"But coming to the hospital and seeing the sort of stuff the kids are going through and seeing their situations, it just touches your heart.

"It's such a good feeling to know that you're making an impact in a small way in their life.''

The Radio Lollipop program has been running on the Gold Coast for over three years and Honorary Chairperson Douglas Alderton said the regular visits by the Jetstar Titans was a highlight for the kids.

"The Titans come at least twice a year and they are really great, the kids love to see them,'' he said

"When the Titans are here it's just unbelieveable. The excitement of them coming, because they know beforehand, then when they turn up the kids love it and when they go they're all near enough to crying.

"In fact they're meant to go to bed at 8pm at night time but they're buzzing so much that they don't go to be until 10pm so we get told off by the nurses,'' he joked.

"Radio Lollipop is here to try and get the kids to forget about being in hospital. It's all part of their recovery, in fact the hospital staff and nurses tell us the kids recover quicker from us being here.''