Care home 'hug-a-thon'

Residents and staff at Wilmslow care home, The Hawthorns, celebrated Valentine’s Day by hosting a special ‘Give a Hug’ fundraising event. Residents and staff set themselves the challenge of hugging as many people as possible throughout the day, to raise money to improve the home’s garden in time for spring.

As part of charitable organisation, CLS Care Services, The Hawthorns regularly hosts fundraising events to raise money for the residents’ comfort fund, which helps finance the home’s varied activities programme and outings, as well as leisure facilities and equipment.

In return for a £1.00 donation, the residents, staff and visitors taking part in the' hug-a-thon' were given a large love heart necklace, onto which people they hugged to sign their names. The person with the most names on their love heart pendant at the end of the day won a prize. All money collected during the ‘Give a Hug’ event, will go towards new garden plants and ornaments.

Claire Bibby, Home Manager at The Hawthorns comments: “With spring around the corner we wanted to raise money for a garden makeover, to create a pleasant area where residents can enjoy the warmer weather. Valentine’s Day seemed like the ideal opportunity to do something fun.”

Residents benefit from an active social calendar including bingo evenings, tea dances, musical entertainment and excursions such as canal boat trips and visits to the garden centre, zoo and museums. To kick-start the home’s 2010 activities programme, residents enjoyed a visit from Molly the donkey who actually walked around inside the home as part of a ‘donkey therapy’ initiative by charity, the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust, which has a donkey sanctuary in Manchester.