Chichester Care Home Champions ‘Kindness at the End of the Rainbow’

It started as an arts project for World Kindness Day nine months ago and now residents at a Chichester care home have finally given it the finishing touches.

In praise of carers, nurses and other frontline healthcare staff, more than 200 pebbles were painted and configured as a giant rainbow design in the garden of Colten Care’s Wellington Grange.

Stones decorated by creatively minded residents at the Broyle Road home were complemented by additions from local nursery children, culminating in an array of colours and shapes.

The painted pebbles featured good luck messages, words of kindness and pictures of flowers, animals and insects.

Among those to contribute their artistry were Wellington Grange residents Stella Collister and Bee Andrews.

Stella said: “I enjoyed doing the painting of the stones throughout the months. It was so nice to see it all come together and laid out, so colourful.”

Bee said: “Painting the pebbles was quite simply marvellous – and beneficial to my wellbeing. I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Heather Pearce, Companionship Team Member, said: “We started this rainbow for World Kindness Day on February 17th this year.

“All these months later, the rainbow is complete with painted pebbles from our residents and the local community.

“We started by contacting local nurseries and organisations via social media and were delighted when a group of nursery children added their stones to our beginning of the rainbow.

“We put on activities for residents to paint pebbles over the summer and it really gave a chance for them to get creative and do some mindful painting.

“It was a lovely way to spend a regular hour or two. Throughout the summer, the stones have weathered a bit, but we think this adds to the overall effect and shows how much time has been involved for it to take shape.

“It felt right to make a rainbow pebble display that was visible to passers-by. The rainbow is the new symbol of the NHS and hope is still fresh in our minds after the year and half we have all had.”

Heather said that now the rainbow is complete, residents will place some of their favourite stones around the garden so they can continue to enjoy them.

She added: “On our final viewing of the display, companions and residents gathered around to look at all the stones we had painted together and remember everyone who has contributed to kindness at the end of the rainbow.”