Making it Work for Macmillan
A favourite annual event for Avery homes has always been Macmillan Coffee Morning. Not wanting the Coronavirus to stop them from supporting this worthy cause in 2020, our homes got creative to step up to make it work. One such home, Silvermere in Surrey, spent the morning preparing for their activities with residents decorating cupcakes and making coasters, and the result was a wonderful spread of treats. The home set a competition to guess the weight of one of the cakes with resident Jean Harris coming closest and winning herself a toiletries gift set. A cupcake raffle, cake themed quiz, won by a resident, Keith Stevens, and fun with photo booth props followed along with entertainment from rat pack singer, Daniel Brewerton via Zoom.
Merlin Court put their heads together and chose to raise funds by taking part in a charity bike ride. 19 members of the staff team took turns to cycle 150km on their indoor bike over two days with residents and staff stopping to encourage when they passed through the reception area of the home. Merlin Court Well-being and Activities Assistant, Rhia Murgatroyd-Elliott, commented, “It was a lot of fun, and we didn’t gain weight pounds, only monetary!”
South Lodge in Leicester decided they would give back to their local community. Chefs at the home-baked over 300 cupcakes for the team to donate to the hard-working staff at local hospitals. Nurse, Dia Michelle Cullen, of St Lukes Hospital commented on the gesture, “They were delicious thank you so much from staff and patients at St Luke’s!”
Unable to open their doors to celebrate with their local community, Spencer House in Northampton instead set up ‘cake stations’ on each floor. Time together was the order of the day and staff, wearing green mufti clothing in return for a charity donation, enjoyed a catch up with residents over coffee and a slice of cake. This amazing Avery team effort from all of our homes raised over £2,000 for the charity.
