Friends of Elmwood (Closed)

The project was born following a series of consultations with family members, carers and residents of the care home themselves who indicated a strong need for an outdoor space that could make their lives at home a little more joyous and comfortable, so the Four Seasons garden project came about following a suggestion that indicated a building a garden space that represented all four seasons.

We hope that the Four Seasons garden project will improve the mental well-being of the elderly residents. Being outdoors means spending more time in the sun, which we hope will mean residents will notice a positive change in their mood as well as find themselves more stress-relieved.

The project is a way for residents to get together. In addition to this, specially-trained volunteers will engage with the residents to cultivate and enjoy working on the seasonal project together. A responsibility shared between the residents will give more opportunities to socialise, build new friendships, and eventually bond with other residents or volunteers.

With the combined efforts of Friends of Elmwood and the staff and volunteers at the care Home, the residents will be given a therapeutic chance to make the most out of their garden and health, and as a result, age gracefully.

With her Vicar Reverend Catherine and some other members of the Church they made contact with the Activities Co-ordinator at Elmwood Care Home and were made to feel very welcome.  After due process of recruitment by Attends she has been visiting residents at the home at regular intervals, including doing a monthly remembrance service led by Revered Catherine, with residents, staff and visitors.  A group from the Church have also gone around the Home singing carols at Christmas time.

During her free time, Mitzi likes to do some reading, gardening and enjoys going out visiting places of interest to her. She loves working with the staff at the care home and meeting all the lovely residents, she said “they are all very interesting, they still have very engaging personalities and history”.  During her volunteering experience, Mitzi has formed friendships with people at the care home, “I gained new friends among the residents, staff and certainly with the activities coordinators”, she stated.

Maturity, patience, good listening skills and experience in social care has really helped Mitzi to be the best volunteer that she can be. “I have worked with people with dementia for many years and I have seen the challenging behaviours, I believe that I am very good at trying to calm the situation if anything does happen to occur”, she said.

To be a good care home volunteer, having an interest to work in the care home environment is vital, but also having an interest in the residents and the individuals themselves is just as important. “They should try to understand the person and see them as an individual with life skills and experience and not just as the condition that they are in now”, Mitzi stressed. “They have a history, so treat them in a way where they can recognise that they are individuals with a past”, she added, showing that Mitzi’s mission as a volunteer is to treat residents with respect and dignity.

The most important part of the day for Mitzi is that she is able to engage and spend some time with people when she is at the care home, “it gives me satisfaction knowing that I have done something meaningful”, she said. From her own positive experience, she strongly advises others to join a care home, “just do it and find out as much as you can about the people at the care home, they are all very interesting and have a lot of great stories to tell”, she added. Mitzi would recommend anyone to volunteer at a care home because, “at the end of each day at the care home you will feel truly rewarded and gratified”.