Surrey care home residents rekindle the true spirit of Christmas with heart-warming community collection for young and old

With Christmas just around the corner, residents and staff from a group of Surrey care homes have come together in the true spirit of Christmas – gifting ‘winter warmer’ collection boxes to both local elderly people receiving care at home, and children receiving care from a national children’s hospice. 

Hoping to bring a little seasonal sparkle to the local community and those in need, residents of CHD Wellbeing care homes across Surrey have been collecting donations and knitting warm ‘hug in a rug’ knee blankets to share with elderly people receiving home care from CHD Care at Home, the domiciliary arm of CHD Living, an award-winning, family-owned and operated group of care facilities. 

In addition, they have also assembled toy and clothing donation boxes for children at the Shooting Stars Children’s Hospice containing toys, blankets, clothes and more to spread a little Christmas cheer from one generation to another, all as part of their ‘Winter Warmer’ project.

After an outpouring of support from local businesses and suppliers, CHD Living has collected enough donations to make 100 ‘hug in a rug’ parcels as well as 100 ‘kindness connects’ parcels for The Hope Hub in Woking – an incredible gesture and show of support for their local community.

On the resident-driven initiative, Shaleeza Hasham, Head of Hospitality, Communications and Commissioning at CHD Living, said: “When the team at our Kings Lodge centre told me that the residents had asked to start a collection for those receiving care under our Care at Home service, I was so touched. For it to then grow to the incredible collection we have gathered and to receive so much support from local businesses and our suppliers is both amazing and deeply moving.

“Thanks to the support, we have raised over £700 to buy additional blankets, gloves and scarves and extra items for the parcels. That’s on top of all of the items so generously donated – we received over 200 scarves, gloves and winter hats. We’re hugely grateful to everyone who has supported our Winter Warmers project, but especially to Brakes Catering, the amazing Community Champion at Tesco Brooklands, Hodders Estate Agents, Lodge Brothers and the Byfleet Village Co-Operative. They have truly helped so many people with their kindness and generosity.”

Originally, the collection was focused on the ‘hug in a rug’ parcels but after receiving many donations of children's items, the residents decided to kick start a second collection of toy donation parcels for children, choosing Shooting Stars Children’s Hospice which is headquartered close to CHD Living’s headquarters in Godalming, Surrey as the recipient.

Acknowledging the challenges facing its staff as well as the wider community, CHD has also earmarked £150,000 to a hardship fund for members of the team affected by the cost of living crisis. Made available through backdated funding for nursing staff, CHD has put its money where its mouth is in order to help its staff feel supported and able to deliver the best standards of care at work.

Shaleeza adds: ”If you have financial concerns, it can be hard to focus at work as the worry takes over. We want to make sure our team knows that CHD Living will support them through these difficult times so that they can continue doing the amazing job they do, creating happiness daily for our residents. They do so much for our residents and for the local community too, so to be able to give back to them in this way is something we are deeply proud of.”

Aware that concerns over energy bills may impact the elderly especially, the team also compiled a list of safe and warm tips to Care at Home and the wider elderly community reduce their energy usage and lessen the impact of rising costs. While these were shared with residents alongside their ‘hug in a rug’ parcel, they are also available to view on the CHD website for anyone looking for a few tips, visit https://www.chdliving.co.uk/journal/m-news/cost-living/ to find out more.

The ‘hug in a rug’ and ‘kindness connects’ parcels will be delivered a few days before Christmas, giving an early festive treat for those in the local community who need it most.

CHD Living has more than 35 years of experience in delivering high quality care throughout Surrey and South London. The group ethos of ‘creating happiness daily’ is a driver for both its approach to care and the activities and experiences designed for residents and clients. From delivering bucket list wishes to day-to-day support enabling older people to remain in their own home, CHD Living continues to promote choice, independence and dignity, in safe and caring environments.

For more information, please visit www.chdliving.co.uk