Macie Edkins-Wherry, a Year 10 student at Carisbrooke College, has been writing cards and wrapping Christmas gifts for any elderly residents in care homes or in the community that have no family or will not receive a card or gift over the festive season.
Macie’s mum, Dana, uploaded a Facebook post on behalf of her daughter to offer support to anyone in the community and to provide gifts and cards to help cheer people up. Macie told her mum that she would like to put as many smiles on faces as she can and that it would make her very happy.
Everyone has been so supportive of Macie’s idea, donating Christmas cards, gifts and wrapping paper to help her out. She has even used her own money from her paper round job to save towards buying the presents. They may only be small but Macie and her parents hope that they will make a difference.
The mother and daughter duo have also made contact with the hospital and are waiting on a reply as to whether they may like a few gifts to give out to the elderly who are in hospital over Christmas and are feeling lonely.
Some of the gifts and cards have already been wrapped, written and put into bags. Everything delivered to care homes and hospitals will have to be kept in quarantine for 72 hours with the care provider before being given to the person.
Macie and her mum will be delivering presents to Pan Together, Inver House, Fair Haven care home, Merrydale Residental Care home, Cornelia Manor, Care First and other places in need this Christmas.
Dana has told Island Echo:
“Macie is a very thoughtful young lady whom we are very proud of, always thinking of others and one thing this pandemic has highlighted to her is that so many things we take for granted on a daily basis.
“Macie said let’s bring some cheer to people if we can, as parents how could we not support her lovely idea and make her vision happen. I know her Year 10 head Miss Hookey is also very proud of her and supportive of her idea”.
If you are running a care home that may have a resident which would like a little card and gift from Macie, to make them smile, you have a week left to get in contact with Dana at [email protected].
Great for once a worthwhile cause for decent people. Well done.
WW agree, the elderly are so forgotten in all this. We get so many people in society who live beyond their means then whinge they are ‘poor’ and get others to feed their offspring, yet the elderly live within their means, have no way of being able to work to increase their income, and living in fear being vulnerable and find it hard to do the simplest things due to restricted physical abilites.
How nice to see someone young care for people in true need of help rather than just those who for some are milking the current situation.
What a lovely thing to do. Well done, Macie!
Well done Macie great idea , you are a thoughtful young lady .