Kelseigh's Care Home Mission
Kelseigh Hardy set herself a goal this Christmas; to bring a little festive cheer into the lives of elderly people. Her one woman mission was to ring around local Care Homes, obtain a list of residents who have no family, then enlist the help of her Facebook friends and colleagues to buy presents.
Kelseigh, who has worked at Magenta Living for 11 years, gave herself just two weeks to complete her Care Home mission. Her first hurdle was to contact two Care Homes in Wallasey; Mariner Park (for retired Sea Merchants) and Mother Redcaps. A third Care Home was added to her list when she discovered a colleague was Chair of St David’s Residential Care Home in Rhyl.
From the three homes Kelseigh was given 63 names, so she built a wish list of presents, which included soft chocolates, a china tea cup and toiletries. The power of Facebook enabled Kelseigh to share her mission with friends, family and colleagues, and before she knew it, she had all 63 presents wrapped and delivered to her door step.
The final stage of her good deed was to visit the Care Homes and hand deliver all the presents. Kelseigh says: “Setting myself this goal was never about any personal gain, I just wanted to give something back to the elderly community which I feel gets overlooked at this time of the year. I have a young family, and like many, it’s easy to get swept away in the festivities without thinking of others.”
“Growing up without grandparents and the recent loss of an elderly friend has given me the push I needed to fulfil this dream. Delivering gifts and chatting to the residents really melted my heart, and I can’t thank everyone enough who donated gifts.”
Kelseigh is already planning next year’s mission in the hope that she can help more elderly residents: “Next year I want more wish lists, presents, and a team of volunteers to help me put up some decorations. Each and every friendly face I met has inspired me, and hopefully others, to think about those less fortunate this Christmas.”