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We're doing our best to maintain connections between Care Home residents and their local communities - just a little differently!
What is changing (for now!)
We are juggling as much as possible to respond and innovate as opportunities arise, but inevitably some of our usual FaNs activities have been impacted by the necessary social distancing and stay at home rules. Our Facebook page gives the most up-to-date indication of what we are able to do, but please bear with us if you message or email us at the moment – we’re a bit busy!!
Wishing Washing Line (WWL)
Virtual wishes can still be shared via Facebook posts, but these are only for wishes which can be granted at a distance rather than those involving personal contact or visits. For example, there was a recent request (happily granted) for a Box set of 'Friends' DVDs. Sadly, we have had to postpone all our planned March WWL developments - the ‘refresh’ of our physical WWLs in Maldon and Clacton and the launch of an Ipswich WWL where we had been helping Suffolk County Council to learn from our FaNs Essex experiences. We will get back to this as soon as Government restrictions permit.
Intergenerational activities
All our usual visits to Care Homes from schools, preschool groups, childminders, mothers and babies, dance groups, choirs, scouts and cubs, brownies and guides, police and fire cadets etc are currently ‘on hold’. As much as possibly existing relationships are encouraged to seek out alternatives to ‘visits’ – whether using technology to communicate, sending letters, postcards, small items as treats etc. All these things have been very well received and appreciated by the care home residents who are assured they have not been forgotten. Hopefully you will all see eachother very soon.
Events for Residents, Communities and Care Home connections
Like many other Charities we’ve also had to cancel planned ‘events’ – VE Day celebrations in Colchester with other partners and an April Bake-off competition in Clacton to mention just a couple. Further ahead we had been planning a Care Home Residents Art Exhibition to showcase all the wonderful creative talent of our Essex Care Home residents. It is unlikely that this will now happen this year. We were recently awarded an Active Essex Micro Grant to help fund FaNs initiatives which require transport to enable Residents to make use of opportunities outside the Care Home, keeping body and mind active. Specific plans for this are ‘on hold’, but we look forward to enabling residents to ‘get out and about’ again, once the current restrictions are removed and this can happen safely.
Please, can you help?
We realise that for many of our FaNs things will be tighter financially this year, but we really do welcome all donations, however small, to help sustain our work.
- Our Just Giving page is always available for anyone willing and able to donate to keep the Charity going. You may only know us as FaNs Network, but this is the correct charity Just Giving page as we need to use our registered charity name.
https://www.justgiving.com/myhomelifeessex
· If you want to do a personal sponsored challenge in aid of the charity or if your school or workplace wants to make FaNs Network your ‘Charity of the Year’ please let us know. Email us hello@fansnetwork.org
· Give while you shop -You can ensure FaNs receives small amounts of commission at no extra cost to yourself when shopping online at a variety of stores, when buying train tickets etc, via The Giving Machine website/app.
https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/causes/fans-network---my-home-life-essex-community/ To use the shopping link just go to the site or download the app, register, select FaNs Network as your charity to benefit and shop via the app/link. The available stores/outlets give a small percentage to the charity for each purchase. You will get a monthly statement of how much you have raised. The amounts are very small, but everything adds up, so please share this link and request to support FaNs network with your friends and family.
Let’s all continue to #makeeverymomentcount
Thank you from all at My Home Life Essex Community Association – the charity behind FaNs Network Essex.