City Scouts' support message to residents
A group of Sunderland Scouts are keeping residents of a city care home in the picture during the coronavirus crisis.
Care homes across Sunderland are closed to visitors during the lockdown, meaning residents will not be able to see family or friends for the foreseeable future.
The Silksworthbased 89th Sunderland Scout Group has also been affected, with the 45 members unable to attend their usual weekly sessions.
So group leaders found a way to continue their community outreach.
Leader Tracy Armstrong said: "I read on Facebook that a local care home was asking for children to send drawings and letters to the residents to hopefully cheer them up, due to the fact they couldn’t have any visitors during the lockdown. "As a result, we asked our young people to send their artwork and messages via email.”
Leaders collated the work and delivered it to the Croft Care Home.
Kathryn Armstrong, from Croft Care Home, said: "We are working very hard supporting the residents to have fun-filled days to fill the void of no visitors.
“The residents really enjoy receiving and reading the messages and drawings.
“You can tell by their faces the happiness it brings.
"We have made a wall in the ground floor corridor to display them for everyone to read.
“Our Facebook page is full of posts for the families to see, along with regular emails sent out to keep families and friends up to date with everyone at the Croft."
Alongside the artwork, the home has been providing activities including a sports day, beauty day, cinema and karaoke afternoon, as well as crafts and quizzes.
Fiona Brown, Director of Neighbourhoods at Sunderland City Council, said: "We would like to commend the actions of the 89th Sunderland Scout Group.
“It is really important to remember the elderly and vulnerable at this current time.
“And to see this group doing something to show support at such a young age is a great indication for the morals and values that this group is instilling in them.”
You can learn more about the coronavirus and how to volunteer at www.sunderland.gov.uk/coronavirus.