How lovely to see so many of the local children joining in the the Halloween fun at The Manor! Pumpkins prepared by staff and residents lined the driveway of our Exminster home, inviting Trick or Treaters to call. Such a lovely community evening – it did cost us a fortune in sweets though!
The staff and residents at Dove Tree House in Exeter got into the Halloween spirit on Monday night, by dressing up, playing spooky charades and enjoying a terrifying tea prepared by Frankenstein (aka Keith the Chef)! The afternoon was spent carving pumpkins and decorating cakes ready for the evening’s celebrations.
Billy Johnson, a Carer at Cross Park House in Brixham, recently thought to himself ‘My longest working shift is 13 hours, I wonder how many miles I could walk in that time?’ And so, on Sunday 16th October, he set out to do just that! Billy completed 42 miles – walking, jogging, running – and if that wasn’t enough, he did it in drag and managed to raise £1300 in sponsorship for the residents of Cross Park! Good work Billy – and a huge thank you on behalf of all of the residents.
Primrose House, Stonehaven’s 30-bedroom, purpose-built care home in Westward Ho! was officially opened last Thursday by the Deputy Mayor of Northam, Mr Hugh Brading. We were joined by local residents, business leaders, Council members, health professionals and Stonehaven care team members and residents. Directors Nathan and Ralphe Stone opened the proceedings with an overview of the business and details about the state-of-the-art new home. Tours of the home were conducted by Stonehaven managers, and guests were invited to take part in the Virtual Dementia Training course, which ran sessions throughout the day. Lunch was served in one of the home’s three dining rooms, overlooking the stunning North Devon Coast and Lundy Island. We are so proud of what we have achieved in Westward Ho! If you would like some more information about the home, or to make an appointment to come and view, please contact the home’s Manager, Mary Horsfield on 01237 475001.
M&S colleagues and customers came together and donated their time to support their local communities. 12 in Exeter and 12 in Plymouth. The Exeter Dementia Action Alliance were selected as 1 of 12 chosen community groups to take part in Exeter. Gina Awad leading the Exeter Dementia Action alliance shares the event and the difference it made to people living with dementia. “We were delighted as a local alliance to have received the phone call asking us if we would be interested to collaborate in the #SparkSomethingGood project. Marks & Spencers as a leading store in the High Street were high on our agenda to join the alliance.
For the past month we have been working hard towards our event. Our project saw 9 people living with dementia have a personal in-store shopping experience with volunteer M&S staff for up to 90 minutes. They all received a £15 gift-card voucher towards their purchases as well as complimentary lunch in the Cafe. We invited 3 Care Homes to take part as well as attendees of the local Memory Cafe”. City & County Cllr Emma Morse’s grandmother Anita lives with dementia and also took part, she said “it was wonderful, I met some wonderful people and I wish I could take them all home with me”.
One particular highlight was for Sylvia who resides at Dove Tree House, she worked at M&S for a number of years and the greeting she received on arrival was so emotive. She was delighted to reminisce and spend time in store with staff who used to be her colleagues.
We had the opportunity to raise awareness of the alliance at the front of the store offering promotional leaflets, shopping bags and pens to give away. Being able to chat and generally engage with the public about our work in the community was really important and allowed us to hear personal stories and experiences which will help support our future strategy said Gina Awad of EDAA. A particularly valuable aspect was to include people living in residential care as well as those living in the community. We invited Parklands Care home, Green Tree Court and Dove Tree House. Parklands Care Home explained how thrilled the family members were that their parents had this opportunity in the community and said “we made sure we gave them some extra spending money so they could treat themselves”. David Barenskie, Head of Dementia Care at Green Tree Court said their resident arrived home “one happy shopper full of the joys of Spring”.
After their shopping experience tables were reserved in the Cafe for the participants to enjoy lunch or at their leisure. Taxis were provided to and from the store. Allowing the participants quality one to one support provided a meaningful connection which is essential for us all but especially for those living with dementia. Dakota Ferrera, Project Host of M&S said “it truly was a memorable event for myself and the volunteers, we thoroughly enjoyed being able to make a difference. We now have a link with the alliance and plan on growing our partnership”
Last week Stonehaven enjoyed a day at the North Devon Show, promoting our new home, Primrose House in Westward Ho! We met some lovely people who were very keen to attend our Open Day on Thursday 29th September.
Last Tuesday we met the Mayor and his wife at the site of our new home in Westward Ho! ‘Primrose House’. The £3 million, 30 bed home is due to open Autumn 2016. We were so impressed by the progress of the build, particularly the view from the second floor, looking out across the coastline as far as Saunton Sands – stunning! If you would like more information about the home please contact the Stonehaven Head Office on 01364 644208. PS – for those of you following our progress with the build, you may have spotted the name change from ‘Evodia House’ to ‘Primrose House’.
We are so thrilled to have won ‘Independent Business of the Year 2016’ at last night’s Herald Express South Devon Business Excellence Awards. The awards, now in their ninth year, were presented at a glittering ceremony at Torquay’s Riviera International Conference Centre. Stonehaven Chairman and MD, Stephen Stone, took to the stage to accept the award from broadcaster Judi Spiers. A proud moment for us all.
Well done to residents and staff at Dove Tree House in Exeter for successfully completing the 2015 Christmas Gingerbread Challenge in association with Unilever and NAPA!
At Stonehaven Care Group we take fire awareness very seriously. All of our employees are required to complete a Fire Awareness training course provided by a company called ‘Firewatch’. We also ensure at least two members of staff at each of our nine homes attend a more in depth ‘Fire Wardens’ course, which includes hands on, practical training. The safety of our residents is paramount.
