Students organise 'a night to remember' for care home residents

A group of young volunteers recently arranged a musical night out for a group of residents from a Sudbury care home.

Attending their local secondary school to watch a musical production was the first night out in a year for delighted Mavis, Margaret, Dorothy and Joy, who are all wheelchair users and in their 80s.

The special trip was organised by sixth form students belonging to the charity Young People of the Year (YOPEY) and was the idea of 17-year-old Rebecca Meggs. She said: “I wanted the residents to see our school musical Aladdin Jr in which several YOPEY Befrienders were taking part.

“Although this was very difficult to organise and very time-consuming, in no way am I regretting my ambitious idea as I know how much the residents and carers enjoyed themselves.”

Ms Meggs led the group of volunteers in arranging transport, hosting their guests in a ‘green room’ at the school, laying on tea and treats and meeting the stars of the show before the curtain went up.

During the production, 16-year-old YOPEY Befriender Sophie Tonkins, sat with the residents.

“I asked how they felt about Rebecca organising this event for them, to which resident Dorothy Turpin replied ‘she's a lovely girl that Rebecca’. They all said they were ‘very impressed’ and couldn’t remember the last time they went out.”

Commenting on the event, carer Sammie Steer, who accompanied the residents along with other Four Seasons staff, added: “Rebecca is an amazing student – she made us all feel like VIPs. Everyone from the YOPEYs to the cast and staff of the academy should be super proud.”

The group of ten sixth-formers, who have been visiting Four Seasons’ Catchpole Court for six months, were given £50 by the charity to pay for a wheelchair friendly taxi to transport residents to and from their care home and the secondary school.

While the school donated £75 worth of tickets for free, the students also raised £60 from a bake sale to pay for treats for their guests.

Befrienders are recruited by the charity to visit a local care home for an hour each week, for one year. The 16-17-year-olds are given training on how to relate to older people, including those living with different conditions such as dementia, which typically cause memory loss and challenging behaviour.

YOPEY’s founder Tony Gearing said: “I have been setting up YOPEY Befriender partnerships between schools and care homes up and down the country for four years. This is the first time any group of young people has organised a trip out.

“I will be using Rebecca’s initiative to encourage other groups of YOPEY Befrienders to do the same.”

For more information visit www.youngpeopleoftheyear.org.

click here for more details or to contact Catchpole Court Care Home