The Rotary Club’s traditional Christmas Lunch for the elderly could not take place so we found a different way to remember local care home residents, inviting local primary schools to join us, with three taking part – St Mary of Charity, Ospringe and Davington.
The Rotary Club donated card and envelopes and teachers encouraged the children to design Christmas cards with cheerful messages written inside. One resident of the Almshouses said it had made her day to receive a card.
In the meantime a Faversham Rotarian who really enjoys shopping spent a couple of weeks searching out suitable gifts for 176 residents of Carnalea and Cooksditch Residential Homes and the Almshouses. Fellow Rotarians volunteered to individually wrap all the presents, which included seasonal chocolate, cuddly toys, toiletries and mugs. These were then distributed together with the Christmas cards.
On behalf of the residents and staff at the Almshouses, Carolyn Flanagan said “It was lovely to see the smiles on Residents’ faces when they received their gift. We, the staff, really enjoyed giving out the gifts – it was a lot of fun. These things really do make a huge difference.”
Cooksditch requested donations of food for their annual Christmas party and were happy to receive mince pies, home made cakes and chocolate sweets donated by the U3A.
Faversham Rotary Club is delighted that local schools are willing to participate in the club’s Christmas activities. The elderly residents feel valued by their community and the children happily share their enthusiasm for the Festive Season.