The residents of Blackwater Mill Care Home were well and truly spoiled this Christmas.
After a Facebook appeal for cards for residents with few or no family, the Isle of Wight community came up trumps and donated many wonderful cards and gifts. It was very uplifting to witness the kindness and generosity of Islanders.
Local shop, Rookley Co-op, donated many delicious mince pies, which were all eaten.
Hunts Fruit and Vegetable Wholesaler donated some lovely satsumas, which is a nice traditional Christmas fruit, that many residents found in their childhood stockings.
Local family, Dana and Macie Edkins-Wherry bought wonderful gifts and cards for many of our residents. Macie saves up money she has earned from her Saturday job through the year, so that she can buy gifts for care home residents.
The charity, Embracing Age, brought in some lovely home-made cards and some stunning hand-crafted gifts. Particular favourites were fingerless gloves, knitted blankets, memory boxes, mosaic coasters and needle-felted pictures.
During the Newport Day of Christmas, the Youth Trust had a stall where children created some amazing cards, and they were then donated to us. Age UK created some lovely cards with the assistance of local primary schools and brought some of those in for the residents. Carisbrooke College made some beautiful cards for our residents who don’t have family.
Local Primary School, St Gerorge’s – Arreton, created a card and sent it in with a copy of their Christmas Nativity play, which residents loved watching.
Instead of the expected 2 cards this Christmas, residents received at least 16, with some coming from as far as Canada and Sweden.
What an uplifting news item.
Lovely to see such kindness to the elderly who these days seem to get far too much ageism thrown at them.
Well done to all concerned and thank you for restoring some of my faith in the Isle of Wight community.