At Friends for Life we have seen first-hand what a difference befriending and supporting activities can make on all levels. Giving residents the chance to form intergenerational relationships has a big impact on their mental wellbeing. 

Our Aim

As part of the charity’s aim to increase the contact that residents have with the world outside the care home,  we want to facilitate schools to build relationships with local care homes. This not only enhances the quality of life for the residents but also teaches the children valuable life lessons and communication skills.

There are different ways that we can work with educational institutions and we are always excited to establish new links between them and local care homes.

School Scheme

Our school scheme links schools to care homes.  This is something we started in 2020, during lockdown, when face to face visits were not possible.  At the time, it involved a class of children committing to send something to residents once a month over a period of a year.  We are working with local schools to embed this within their curriculum and to develop this scheme further.  Please do get in touch if you would like to be part of this as it develops.

Volunteering

This can take various forms, but the one we have found to be most successful is small numbers of students visiting the homes and either supporting or leading a pre-arranged activity or performance for a group of residents, such as crafts, flower arranging, cake decoration, singing, playing instruments and so on. Younger pupils can feel nervous and intimidated in a care home environment and we’ve found that these activities can help to break the ice and help foster good rapport and longer term relationships.

Events/Activities

The possibilities are endless here depending upon the age group of children involved.  Mini music recitals, poetry readings, dance shows, afternoon teas. These kind of events can bring great joy to residents, even those with illnesses such as dementia.

For both of the above there are practical as well as health and safety implications, which we can discuss with you and plan training sessions to prepare students for the visits. 

Sponsorship

To support the growth of the charity and the services we offer we are always looking for help with funding.  Charity bake sales, fun runs, any sponsored activities really do make a big difference and also teach children a variety of skills.

FFL are happy to come in and run assemblies or give talks about what the charity does and help the children understand what life in a care home might be like.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss all of the above as well as schools’ own thoughts and ideas in line with their values.

We see this as very much a partnership and would be able to promote your school across our social media channels and our website.  We would also be happy for you to use our logo on your own channels.

If you would like to have a chat about potentially working together please contact us on hello@friendsforlife.org.uk