From wing walks to skydives: Dovehaven colleagues go sky-high for residents in Liverpool and Warrington
Brooklands Care Home colleagues raise more than £800, while Callands Care Home employee Kyle Ward takes on a skydive to help create a new games room for residents
When you care for people every day, you get to know what makes them smile, what they enjoy and what makes a day feel special.
For colleagues at Dovehaven’s Brooklands Care Home in Liverpool and Callands Care Home in Warrington, that commitment recently meant doing something a little outside the ordinary – quite literally taking to the skies to raise money for the residents they care for.
At Brooklands Care Home, Elaine Owens and Rosie Ann Rawlins took part in an exhilarating wing walk, raising more than £800 to support activities and experiences for residents at the Liverpool care home.
And in Warrington, Callands Care Home colleague Kyle Ward took the ultimate leap of faith, completing a skydive to raise money towards creating a new games room for residents at the home's Lakeside unit.
It is an impressive amount of courage for a very personal cause.
A leap of faith for Callands residents
Kyle's skydive was about raising money for something the team at Callands Care Home in Warrington hopes will become a much-loved part of life at Lakeside – a dedicated games room where residents can relax, socialise and enjoy activities together. But the day became even more meaningful when Kyle discovered that one of the home's residents had come along with her family to support him.
Kyle said:
“What an absolutely brilliant day! Completing my skydive was an incredible experience – terrifying, exhilarating and absolutely unforgettable. Knowing that this one jump will help us create a fantastic games room for Lakeside makes it even more special. One of the most beautiful moments was turning around and seeing one of our residents there with her family, coming along to support me. Moments like this mean more than words can say. I’m incredibly grateful for the love, support and kindness. I’m truly touched.”
For Kyle, the skydive was a personal challenge, but seeing a resident and her family there to cheer him on brought home exactly why he had decided to take part.
Brooklands colleagues take wing for Liverpool residents
Meanwhile, over in Liverpool, Brooklands Care Home colleagues Elaine Owens and Rosie Ann Rawlins decided that if they were going to fundraise, they might as well make it memorable.
The pair took part in a wing walk, climbing onto the wing of a plane and taking to the skies, all in the name of raising funds for the people who live at Brooklands.
Their efforts raised more than £800, which will provide the Brooklands team with additional funds to put towards resident activities, experiences and opportunities throughout the year.
While Dovehaven homes already provide a wide range of activities and experiences for residents, fundraising like this allows teams to build on those opportunities and respond to the individual interests and ideas of the people who live there.
Whether that means trying something completely new, planning a special day out, creating a new activity space or simply finding another way to bring residents, families and colleagues together, these additional funds can help turn good ideas into memorable experiences.
Elaine and Rosie Ann's decision to take on such an unusual challenge is a brilliant example of that spirit.
They said "The wing walk was an amazing experience – scary, exciting and absolutely every bit worthwhile knowing we were raising funds for our residents! We’re so proud to have taken on the challenge and raised money for the people we care for. Now we just need to work out how we’re going to top it next year!"
More than fundraising
What makes both challenges particularly special is that the fundraising is not simply about reaching a target. It is about the people behind it.
For Elaine, Rosie Ann and Kyle, their challenges have brought colleagues, residents and families together, with residents themselves becoming part of the story.
For the teams at Brooklands Care Home in Liverpool and Callands Care Home in Warrington, the money raised will become something tangible: more opportunities for residents to enjoy the things they love, discover new interests and make memories with the people around them.
David Wright, Home Manager at Brooklands said: 'For the past four years, our Brooklands team have been raising funds for our residents, and this year they decided to take on something a little different – a wing walk! It has been an incredible achievement and we couldn’t be prouder of Elaine and Rosie for taking on this year’s challenge. They have both raised an incredible amount so far, and we’re still counting! The funds raised are used to support activities, events and special experiences at Brooklands that everyone can enjoy. It’s wonderful to see our team putting themselves out there to do something so memorable for the people who live here, and we’re incredibly grateful for all the support they’ve received.'
Cheryl Byrne, Home Manager at Callands said: 'Kyle wanted to do something that would really make a difference to our residents at Callands Care Home. It was an incredible experience to watch and cheer him on. His can do attitude and positive vibe is really inspiring. One resident attended to watch the skydive and her smile was infectious. Our other residents have thoroughly enjoyed watching the video.'
For the teams at Brooklands and Callands, the money raised will mean more opportunities for residents to enjoy activities, events and experiences together.
That’s what makes the challenges so special. Elaine, Rosie and Kyle took on something that was exciting, daunting and completely outside the everyday, with their residents at the heart of why they did it.
The wing walk and skydive may be over, but the funds raised will help create plenty more special moments for residents to enjoy together, and we think that makes all those nerves, thrills and adrenaline very worthwhile.
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Lucie Drakeford
Communications & Marketing Manager
