Sandfields welcomes 40 volunteers for a day of dementia-friendly activities

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Jul 31, 2018

Sandfields was joined by UCAS volunteers looking to become more dementia friendly.

Residents at Care UK’s Sandfields, on St Georges Road, were joined by 40 volunteers from the UCAS head office in Cheltenham as part of a new team-bonding activity.

UCAS chose to visit Sandfields care home to kick start its new pilot volunteering scheme. The initiative encourages team members to get involved with the local community, and if successful it will be rolled out across the company. The residents and team members at Sandfields look forward to welcoming the volunteers back at Christmas.

The day of activities saw the volunteers reading to residents, sharing life stories, and encouraging the residents to get involved in a photography competition held by the UCAS team. 

Volunteers were also invited to take part in one of two Dementia Friends sessions to learn more about what it is like to live with dementia and how best to turn knowledge into action to help create a more dementia friendly community. 

Dorothy Pye, Care UK manager at Sandfields, said “We were thrilled to have so many volunteers from UCAS to join us for a fun morning of storytelling. Here at Sandfields we strongly believe shared experiences can make a real difference to the everyday lives of those looking after a loved one living with dementia

“We want to educate people, but also help the community turn their knowledge into action by making our community more aware of those living with dementia – and this was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Thank you to all 40 volunteers for dedicating their day to spending time with the residents.”

Cailean Carvahlo, managing director at UCAS, said “It was a privilege to be invited to spend time at Sandfields care home, both the residents and team members made us feel so welcome.

“From storytelling to the Dementia Friends sessions, the day opened up all our volunteers’ knowledge and understanding on living with dementia and it was an incredibly rewarding experience.”