Students at King Edward’s College contribute to residents’ Christmas happiness

Every year, King Edward's College in Nuneaton runs a volunteering programme to enhance students' experience outside the classroom. The programme aims to expand their skills and horizons while they give back to their community. Friends of Acorn Lodge Care Home have been happy to participate and connect with the College over the years, allowing students to support residents.

Although coronavirus restrictions have made it harder for students to give their direct help, that hasn’t stopped them from contributing in any way they can. Last Christmas, for example, they supported the care home with donations and took part in the Friend’s Silver Santa Project to give a Christmas stocking to every resident at Acorn Lodge

Friends and King Edward’s College relationship has been cementing over the past five years, as Rachael, Careers and Progression Leader, explains. “I think it’s gone from strength to strength really,” she says. “We’ve got much better at working together, and Friends would often come in if they were in Nuneaton to speak to students and explain exactly what Acorn Lodge is”. At the start of each academic year, students at King Edward’s can choose from a range of enrichment activities, including volunteering in the local community of Nuneaton. As part of this, Friends of Acorn Lodge have been delighted to offer them the opportunity to go inside the care home and support residents. Scholars are interested in Acorn Lodge for different reasons; it could be that they’re looking to go into medicine and nursing or that they feel like giving back to their community. In both cases, it’s an experience that enriches their lives and helps residents — Friends appreciate making this possible.

With coronavirus restrictions in place last Christmas, students were not allowed inside the care home. Therefore, Rachael and her team met with the Friends and the Acorn Lodge’s home manager to discuss ways to benefit residents given the circumstances; they then helped students turn those ideas into reality. Students could participate in the Friend’s Silver Santa Project, which aims to ensure that every resident gets a gift at Christmas and that Friends had carried out at other care homes before. The goal with Acorn Lodge was to ensure every resident would get a Christmas stocking on Christmas morning. To achieve that, students put requests for donations up both on Facebook and in college. They then approached local shops and collected contributions, including sweets and chocolates and general toiletries, from places like the Body Shop and ASDA. Moreover, they could donate extra items to residents thanks to money collected by offering cash for Christmas cards to the staff at King Edward’s.

Students also got together to write their own Christmas cards for residents and, to drop items at the care home, they used Christmas sacks that made everything more festive. To their surprise, as they arrived, they found a group of residents sitting there, waiting to thank them. “They were just so appreciative. It was really really lovely,” Rachael says. Knowing that these actions contributed to the residents’ Christmas happiness was a beautiful and significant achievement.

Both Friends and staff at King Edward’s appreciate the impact their cooperation has on students as well. During the tough time of the pandemic, it has been ever more meaningful to see and support young people coming closer to the reality of the care home. They understood the hardships residents have been going through and empathised with them, recognising Acorn Lodge as a valuable part of their community. Friends are grateful for what they could achieve through this collaboration and would like to thank both students and the King Edward’s College staff who helped make all the generous donations possible. Hopefully, students will be able to go inside Acorn Lodge again soon and support residents directly with the empathy and kindness they have been showing for years.