Everybody wins in the retirement charity boom
THE saying goes that ‘charity begins at home’ and many retirement developments are putting that very much into practice in their own unique ways. Every year, local and national charities benefit from various schemes at retirement communities, which allow residents to socialise, have fun and stay active while raising money for good causes.
At Churchill Retirement Living’s King’s Lodge in Maidstone, several members of the weekly ‘Knit and Natter’ group made special Easter chicks to hold chocolate eggs, raising more than £100 for Heart of Kent Hospice.
‘We formed the group last year and it is such a fun way to spend an afternoon doing something useful for others, as well as catching up with all of the ladies,’ says resident Ann Owen. ‘We can chat, laugh, relax and even put the world to rights at the same time.’
Across the country, Churchill has raised £4,000 so far this year for various charities chosen by residents through its ‘Warming Morning’ events, at which, during the winter months, local people are invited into the warmth of the developments’ communal lounges for hot drinks and indulgent snacks in return for a small donation to a local charity.
Sachs Lodge in Torquay came out on top of all the developments with a fundraising total of £421.40 going to the Torbay League of Friends, which supports Torbay Hospital.
In September last year, residents at Retirement Villages’ Elmbridge community at Cranleigh in Surrey joined the ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ and baked scones, muffins and victoria sponges to raise £600 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
And in December they made Christmas gifts and decorations for the public and family members to buy at a Christmas fair. The £775 raised was distributed to local food banks, hospices and hospitals, as well as charities for cancer sufferers and the homeless.
‘Retirement is the perfect time to raise money for charity,’ says Jo Marks, a resident at Elmbridge Village, in Cranleigh, Surrey. ‘I’ve always done charitable work, but of course I have more time now.’
Contributing to charitable causes is also made easier when money is less of an issue. Retirement housing provider Platinum Skies has a part-buy, part-rent scheme, which enables retirees to have more money at their fingertips. It is offering one-bedroom apartments in its Monterey development in Christchurch, Dorset, for £140,000 for a 50 per cent share of the property.
At Wadswick Green in Wiltshire, a particularly popular fundraising activity was a fashion show, which was open to the public. A percentage of the event’s ticket sales went to Dorothy House hospice near Bath.
Clare Jones, Wadswick Green’s marketing manager, says: ‘We are due to open our latest phase, Almond Close, soon, which sees an additional 45 apartments. With more residents moving to Wadswick Green, I’m sure there will be many more exciting initiatives i and fundraisers taking t place.’
In 2017, employees and residents at McCarthy & Stone’s developments all around the country raised £269,000 for the Royal Voluntary Service, which helps older people stay active and independent. in To help make this amount, a McCarthy & Stone developments o opened their doors to welcome people in for fundraising vintage tea parties, craft workshops and choir performances.
Another provider of retirement housing, St Monica Trust, shares McCarthy & Stone’s attitude regarding residents mingling with their local communities, and holds a number of free events to encourage an inter-generational mix, particularly at its Chocolate Quarter development in Keynsham, near Bristol.
As a charity it does not fundraise for other charities but awards gifts and grants to individuals, families and organisations through the trust’s Community Fund.