Night of Music at Care Home Raises Over £1,500 for Mental Health Charity
A care home in Surrey has donated £1,600 to a local charity following a successful ‘night of music’ this summer.
Appleby House, Care UK’s home in Epsom, hosted a magical evening for residents, relatives and the community, by inviting singers to perform at their annual event.
The evening included a raffle, dinner and dancing, and raised £800 for local charity Love Me, Love My Mind. The organisation aims to break down stigma and inspire understanding about mental health. Care UK matched Appleby House’s funding, bringing the total raised to £1,600.
The care home’s annual ‘night of music’ started back in 2017 and Home Manager Shona Bradbury believes it is the most anticipated event of the year for residents and the community alike.
Shona said: “When people walk into the marquee, we want them to be blown away. It’s all glittery, and ball gowns and tuxedos. Everyone gets really dressed up!
“It’s an amazing event, and we get to raise money for local charities at the same time. . Looking after your mental health, and raising awareness of support that’s available, is becoming more and more important. It means a lot to us to be able to support Love Me, Love My Mind
“We find that music transcends age and conditions like dementia – colleagues, residents, and the community just want to get together and listen to amazing singers all night.
Appleby House has nurtured a long-standing relationship with Love Me, Love My Mind through their work. This includes weekly collaborations between the charity and the care home throughout the summer in Appleby House’s allotment and garden.
Allen Price, Chief Officer of Love Me, Love My Mind said: “We are delighted to receive a donation of £1,600 from Care UK and Appleby House. For a number of years, Appleby House has donated gifts and presents to our Monday drop-in Christmas dinner, and this generous gift each year makes an enormous difference to our members.
“Two years ago, we started volunteering at Appleby’s forget-me-not allotment. We now have six volunteers from our charity taking part every Wednesday and the allotment looks amazing! It is heartwarming to see residents, families and staff spending time together making memories in the garden.
“Appleby House and Care UK are a very important partners for our grassroots mental health and wellbeing charity, and we are really looking forward to getting out in the garden again next year to grow vegetables, flowers and plants.”
