The children of Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) received an early Easter surprise on Thursday, as five West Coast Eagles stars paid a visit to the hospital in order to help kick off the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation’s ‘Wear a Bear’ campaign.

Eagles players Matt Rosa, Tim Houlihan, Will Sullivan, Tom Swift and Adam Selwood visited the bedsides of some ecstatic young Eagles fans handing out team merchandise and chatting to children and their families as part of the lead-up to the PMH Foundation’s match day which will fall in round four when West Coast takes on Essendon in a Friday night blockbuster.

Since 2005, a West Coast Eagles home fixture has been dedicated to the PMH Foundation to assist in raising funds for the charity. This year, limited edition West Coast Eagles clip-on bears will be on sale for $3 from the Team Store and around the ground at Subiaco Oval during the Essendon clash on April 16.

West Coast’s PMH ambassador Matt Rosa said the Eagles partnership with the foundation was an integral part of the club’s commitment to the community and urged supporters to get behind the campaign by either buying a bear or making a donation.

“Being able to make regular visits to the hospital and see the courage shown by the kids at PMH first-hand makes you recognise just how important a cause such as this is,” Rosa said.

Sales of the Wear a Bear campaign merchandise will go towards the purchase of vital equipment for the hospital. The fundraising target for this year's campaign is $200,000, a target that will be greatly aided by West Coast’s support.

Over the past five years, West Coast has helped raise more than $160,000 for sick and injured kids in Western Australia. These funds have helped purchase vital medical equipment including a patient cooling machine for the paediatric intensive care unit, an overhead warmer for the neonatal ward, a cardiac monitor for the infants ward and theming of the sensory room.