RBKares launched a year ago with its Christmas Kindness for Care Homes and we now want to repeat the success of that project again and say thank you once again.
Last year this incredible community rallied round to make, buy, wrap, donate and deliver 3436 presents to every carer and every resident with no-one else to buy for them and 6000 cards to every Care Home resident in the borough. It was a phenomenal response that made a huge difference to them all and will no doubt have boosted their spirits and made them aware that we still appreciate them looking after our friends and relations and they haven’t been forgotten.
Care home staff have been working under extreme conditions for 20 months and now face an even harder time with staff sickness, bereavement and the loss of a large number of staff over the last month because of new rules.
We want to show them all that we are still here to support them, that we are grateful for their kindness and care.
Throughout the year we have been blown away by your support. After Christmas we raised £20,000 for the kingston hospital wellbeing fund, we made 600 bags and filled them with a mindful activity, chocolates, toiletries, a candle and a thank you card. We donated thousands of treats, snacks, drinks and hand creams to keep the staff at the hospital going on busy shifts and made sleeveless fleeces for staff working outside. We got local schools to make pictures that now hang on the Tolworth Child and Adolescent Mental Health unit, making it a happier more healing environment. Our volunteers have sewn outfits for chemotherapy ‘ducks’ that the children are given to take to their treatment and fidget mats with multiple activities on them to distract care home residents who suffer from dementia. They have also made and embroidered 486 scrub bags for the returning volunteers at Kingston Hospital and made portable ‘noughts and crosses’ bags for the hospital and learning disabled adults. They have made eye masks to help patients in units with lots of machinery and made bespoke scrubs for the chaplaincy at the hospital which have a very positive effect on their interactions with patients, relatives and staff. We have donated 2000 fidget poppers to distract the children struggling with their mental health as well as hundreds of wipeable plastic toys and craft activities. We sorted, washed, categorised and delivered around 1000 bags of donations for the refugees.
We couldn’t have done this without this the support of this phenomenal community.
Your donations make a big difference to so many people. Thank you.
We had some wonderful feedback from last years Christmas Kindness for Care Homes.
This was a message from St Ann’s Lodge:
We would like to send a BIG THANK YOU to you and your team, the work you have being doing during the lockdown have been exceptional. From the masks and bags you made to the wonderful gifts RBKares sent to residents and staffs it was amazing. Our staffs and residents continue to talk about how wonderful it was to receive so much wishes of love from your team, the school children’s and the cards. One of our residents Peter said it was the best Christmas ever and the best presents.
And one from Amy Woodgate Home
I can't thank you enough for all the wonderful gifts for the staff , presents for some of the residents and all the fantastic cards made by the school children.
All of the residents received 2 cards each which was a real treat , they had so much joy opening and reading them out to each other.
After the year we have had it was lovely to be able to give each staff member a little treat . All the staff sends their thanks and best wishes to everyone involved .
One good thing that has come out of this year is all the kindness and appreciation for each other we have shown.
I hope everyone a very Happy Christmas and a covid free new year ( fingers crossed)thank you from Hamilton Home
Good morning
WOW.....I am absolutely amazed and blown away by the generosity of the delivery we have received this morning.
The staff will be overjoyed and cannot thank you enough.
Please pass on our thanks to all involved, so very lovely and kind of you and your lovely volunteers.
It is certainly the case, in times like this, that you realise what a wonderful community we live in.
A thank you from Fiddlers Green
We received the presents and cards yesterday and I must say it was the nicest gesture. The cards were heartfelt and our Fiddlers Green team had nothing but gratitude for everyone.
Thank you so much for all your efforts and hard work because it has totally paid off.
I hope you and your team a very Happy Christmas and A prosperous, Joyful New year.