Borders care home staff setting their sights high

Care home staff are aiming to hit new heights in support of the elderly people they look after.
Bonchester Bridge Care Home staff, Julie Bandeen, left, and Michelle Scott with residents David Easton and Jimmy Taylor.Bonchester Bridge Care Home staff, Julie Bandeen, left, and Michelle Scott with residents David Easton and Jimmy Taylor.
Bonchester Bridge Care Home staff, Julie Bandeen, left, and Michelle Scott with residents David Easton and Jimmy Taylor.

Four workers at Bonchester Bridge Care Centre are to climb Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands on Thursday, June 1, to raise money that will directly benefit the day-to-day life of residents living there.

An initial target of £500 has been set, with money initially being raised through a JustGiving webpage.

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The plan is to use the funds to give a makeover to the gardens surrounding the home, occupied by 24 residents ranging in age from 62 to 103.

The aim is to create raised flowerbeds to grow vegetables and flowers which residents can enjoy for years to come.

Staff also want to buy some sensory equipment to allow residents to enjoy new sights and sounds.

The four staff taking on the challenge are manager Lisa Lothian, cook Michelle Scott, relief senior Julie Bandeen and care assistant Kym Hall.

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Lisa said: “We’ve done an odd bit of walking around the town as part of our training and to get a wee bit fitter.

“I need to do that myself because I have to admit that I take the car everywhere.

“The idea for this challenge came at a managers’ meeting and we just thought we’d go for it.

“It’s all about improving the lives of residents, getting some work done in the garden to make it more accessible for wheelchair users and to acquire some sensory equipment.

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“On the JustGiving page, there is a limit of £500, but we are hoping to raise as much as possible.

“We haven’t set a specific target, but hopefully it will be over £500.

“A lot of our staff have taken away sponsor sheets to put them in various locations.

“We’ve done fundraising events internally before, but this is the first time it is something happening outside.

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“I can’t wait to do it. We’re expecting that to get up and down the mountain will take us the whole day.”

Originally a country estate for the Tancred family, Bonchester Bridge Care Centre has been a residential home for the elderly since 1953 and has been run for the last decade by the St Philip’s Care group.

Major refurbishment and modernisation work has also restored it to its former glory.

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the UK, standing at 1,345m above sea level.

For further details, go to www.justgiving.com/
crowdfunding/Bonchester
BridgeBenNevisChallenge

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