As the festive season has been approaching, our Be Caring teams across the whole organisation have been hard at work spreading holiday cheer to the people we support. We are excited to share some of the amazing ways our teams have gone Above & Beyond to spread joy and create unforgettable moments!

Christmas at Allendale

Residents in Allendale, our assisted living service for adults with autism and learning disabilities, enjoyed a fun-filled day of Christmas celebrations. Colleagues and the people we support got stuck in, making marshmallow snowmen, showing off their Christmas jumpers, and winning lots of prizes!

Coffee, Cake and Christmas in Sheffield

Our newest service Sheffield celebrated their first ever Coffee & Cake in style. Colleagues and clients joined us at Hackenthorpe Community Centre to celebrate 6 months of Be Caring Sheffield! There was even an appearance from Santa Clause who handed out gifts of fleece blankets to the people the service supports.

Dora, who is 102 years old, enjoyed her day, even getting up to dance with Santa! She said,

“I’ve never been to anything like this before, I can’t believe it’s taken me 102 years. I can’t believe I didn’t go out for 4 years because of my stoma. To say this is the first thing I’ve done in 4 years, I haven’t done too bad. I’ve been up dancing and singing. I feel rich to have done something like this.”

Christmas Dinner in Newcastle

Our Newcastle branch went the extra mile, turning the office into the Be Caring Bistro! Courtney, one of our wonderful Care Coordinators, showed off her cooking skills by whipping up a Christmas feast, with only an air fryer and microwave! The team were joined by 7 clients who enjoyed all the holiday classics, including Christmas crackers (terrible jokes included), paper hats and a game of bingo.

Service Manager, Kerry, said,

“Wow what an amazing day! We have lots of clients who have no family and will be spending Christmas alone and we wanted to make them feel special!

Everyone had the best time and were very grateful for their Christmas dinner, pudding, and bingo. Well done to the full team for helping and supporting to make this happen.

This makes our job worthwhile!”

Gifts and Thoughtful Gestures

“What l was before, and what l am now, l am now a totally different person because of what l learnt during the Be Proud Event. l know more about care and I still wish to learn more.”

Across all our branches, the teams have been busy delivering Christmas gifts and spreading festive joy:

• Leeds: Care Assessor Derri, along with colleagues in Leeds will be out delivering home-cooked Christmas dinners to clients who are spending Christmas day alone this year.
• Liverpool: Colleagues in Liverpool have been busy decking the halls, going Above & Beyond to decorate their clients’ homes for Christmas. From putting tinsel on trees to stringing up lights, the Christmas spirit is alive and well in our Liverpool branch!
• Bradford: Our Bradford Office was turned into Santa’s Grotto with the team busy wrapping and hand-delivering personalised gifts for all 81 clients!

Going Above & Beyond for Christmas

Our teams continue to go Above & Beyond this holiday season. Some of the many ways our teams have been making a difference this month include:

• Supporting clients to attend local carol singing services.
• Surprising clients with pyjama parties and much appreciated gifts, such as diaries for clients with dementia.
• Spending quality time with isolated clients to combat loneliness.

A Big Thank You

Thank you to all our incredible colleagues for your unwavering dedication and care. You hard work is making a real difference to the lives of the people we support, helping them feel seen, valued and connected this festive season.