As we kick off the New Year, we’re taking time to reflect over the past twelve months and look at the highlights. Read about Gordon, Mandy and Ann’s years.
Sheila has been volunteering through the Rosewood Centre since September 2014.
One highlight was attending the Patient Council at Wathwood, it was my first time there. I saw the place itself and it was intriguing to see how the patients ran their own meetings. They weren’t shy at coming forwards and had some really good discussions. Things seemed to get done there. Everyone seems to gel together and everyone seemed to want to come and join in.
This year, I’ve also been to Arnold Lodge to collect feedback. It was totally different to what I imagined. They have their own gardens and it seemed a very pleasant place to be. You got the feeling that staff encouraged people to garden and look after the place. It had a community feeling and everybody seemed to get on. The advocates there are brilliant too. We spoke to a lady who was very talkative, she gave us a lot of insight. I think that if you have good staff, it makes it easier for the patients, and that it’s a vocation, not a job.
I’ve enjoyed helping organise the Millbrook Spring, Summer and Christmas Fayres too. This year the Spring theme was Easter and the Summer theme was a beach party. There’s usually a large clothes donation stall with clothes being sold very cheaply for patients and the money being donated back into the LIVE project.
Interested in getting involved and having similar highlights to your year? Contact us to find out more about volunteering.
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