Dorset Care Home on Front Foot for Dementia Charity

Six residents from a Dorset care home joined team members for a windy seafront walk in aid of charity Dementia UK.

The party from Colten Care’s Fernhill home in Longham completed a 2.5 mile/4km route alongside the beach on the promenade from Branksome Chine to Sandbanks.

The hour-long outing, coupled with a tea party held at the dedicated dementia care earlier in May, raised £200 and was topped off for residents with a homemade picnic lunch.

Companionship Team member Miezy Reynolds said: “Our residents absolutely loved being by the sea. They dressed appropriately for the weather and were full of enthusiasm for the cause, tackling the challenge with confidence and a spirit of adventure.”

Resident Carole McGuiness said: “Despite the weather being windy I really enjoyed the walk and would happily do something like it again.”

Fellow resident Sarah Kellett said: “It was nice to be out in the fresh air and walking.”

The Fernhill afternoon tea party, held earlier as part of Dementia UK’s Time for a Cuppa campaign, featured a cake sale and chance to play bingo.

The event followed an open invite for families, friends and community contacts to come into the home.

Blessed with good weather, much of the fun was had outside in the garden of the Outstanding-rated home.

Nurse Lexie Gibson asked: “It was so much fun, could we do it every week?”

And Fernhill resident Jean Renwick said: “This was great. It was so lovely to be outside in the lovely weather in the garden.”
Time for a Cuppa is Dementia UK’s annual fundraising event involving tea parties at care homes and other venues around the country.

It aims to bring friends, families and neighbours together to talk openly about their experiences with dementia while raising money for the charity.