Quantum Care Homes Commemorate WW1 Centenary
26 care homes for older people have been taking part in this year’s special WW1 Centenary commemorations by making their own tributes for the occasion.
The homes are all part of the Quantum Care group; a not-for-profit care provider which offers specialist residential, respite, dementia and day care services across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Essex. The company decided to launch a project whereby all homes would involve residents, staff and families in making a tribute to say thank you to those special people who were either in active service or supporting the war effort 100 years ago. Although their residents would not have had first-hand experience of the 1st World War, many would have had relatives or friends who served, many of whom never returned. They also wanted to be able to pay tribute to those people living in their care homes who were involved in active service for their country in the many conflicts that have happened since that time.
On Thursday 1st November, the care homes brought their tributes to the company head office in Welwyn Garden City where they were placed together in one room for all to see. They were also taking part in a competition where the entries would be judged by Chief Executive Maria Ball and relative Veteran Ernest Large on visual impact, relevance, personal involvement and creativity. When the final scores were collated, there were two joint winners; Willow Court from Harpenden and Fosse House from St Albans. The tributes from both homes had visually stunning impact, but also involved personal memories and stories from residents.
Chief Executive Maria Ball said “I was incredibly moved by all the tributes created by our homes. It was an extremely emotional experience to be part of such a meaningful project and reading some of the personal memories of our residents. It was also enormously difficult to make the final decision about the winners as the standard was so high. I am hugely proud of all of our Quantum Care homes and this is another example of the passion and creativity of our wonderful care teams”.
The tributes will now be returned to the individual homes where they will form the centrepieces of their commemorations on Sunday 11th November.
