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Booster Vaccines from the “Roving Vaccination Unit”

We were delighted to welcome a visit last week by a special NHS funded pop up “Roving Vaccination Unit” vehicle, which arrived in the carpark at Charlotte Straker House to give our eligible residents and staff members their Covid booster injections.
The Unit has been set up by the Village Surgery Cramlington (and is supported by the Northumberland CCG and the Cramlington and Seaton Valley PCN) to vaccinate those most at risk in rural Northumberland. The unit is managed by David Shannon, the Managing Partner of the Village Surgery in Cramlington.
David and his team of two nurses, a community paramedic and a health care assistant used our Visitor Pod to vaccinate all our residents and staff members who were eligible for the booster vaccination (which was dependent on the date they had their second vaccination).
David said, “The van been specifically modified to ensure we can reach all vulnerable and at-risk groups in the community and so far, the reaction to the new vehicle has been overwhelmingly positive. We have already given booster vaccines to care homes in Cramlington, but Charlotte Straker House is the first care home in this area to receive a visit from our Vaccination Unit. It was wonderful to meet the Charlotte Straker residents and staff today and we’ll be back for a second visit to ensure that everyone who lives and works here receives their booster injection.”
Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees added, “I am so pleased that David and his team visited Charlotte Straker House as this shows our commitment to ensuring all our staff and residents are protected as much as possible from this horrible virus. The introduction of the van means that none of our vulnerable residents need to travel to a vaccination centre or risk encountering any positive cases and ensures that everyone receives the booster, and no one will miss out on the vaccination. It’s a fantastic example of the local GP service working in collaboration with care homes, and I’m proud that Charlotte Straker House was one of the first chosen to receive a visit from the Roving Unit.”

Colin enjoying our brand new jigsaw table

Our resident Colin has been making full use of our brand new jigsaw table, which was bought with donated funds. The table has a felt non slip surface and can be fixed at any angle to make it easy to reach puzzle pieces. Colin said “It’s great and I can fit all the pieces on the table plus the box, so I can see what I’m doing!” Thank you to those who have donated to our charity, to allow us to buy furniture and equipment which helps our residents enjoy their hobbies.

Charity Apple Pressing Days

Do you have apples you can donate to a new enterprise in aid of ourselves and the Corbridge Youth Initiative?

Please bring them down to Corbridge Cricket Club between 9am and 4pm on Saturday October 2 and Sunday October 3 where Community Apple Pressing Days are taking place.

The aim is to produce at least 1,500 cans of Corbridge Apple Juice sold in aid of the two village charities in a Corbridge Community Partnership project in association with Hadrian Border Brewery, who will provide cans of apple juice at cost price.

Volunteers are also welcome at the club over that weekend to help with washing, pulping and pressing the apples to produce juice. All necessary equipment will be available although additional presses would be useful if available. Volunteers may also be able to collect and pick apples within Corbridge in the week leading up to the weekend.

If you have any queries please contact John Maude at: johnmaude100@gmail.com / 07791 590814.

(Please also mention to friends and neighbours who may not see this post – thank you!)

Susan raises over £1000 with her Sponsored Slim

We are delighted to announce that our supporter, Susan Stevenson, has completed her slimming challenge and has lost an incredible 38 pounds, as well as raising £1085 for the Respite Care Bed at the Charlotte Straker Project.

Susan was fundraising in memory of her mum Marian Moon, who was cared for in Charlotte Straker House.

Susan said “I am so pleased that I’ve manage to finish this challenge. It hasn’t always been easy but I feel so much better having lost the weight, and I’m very proud that I’ve raised funds in memory of the wonderful care my lovely mum received from the Charlotte Straker Project. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, as they’ve been a great help and encouragement during the past few months.”

Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees added “We are so grateful to Susan for deciding to fundraise for our charity and we think she looks absolutely amazing after losing 38 pounds. We are determined to keep our much needed respite care service bed open for our community, and we are therefore very appreciative of all fundraising efforts from our supporters. We’ve been cheering Susan on from the sidelines and we’re delighted that she’s managed to reach her target.”

Maureen runs the Great North Run for our charity

Our Trustee Maureen Gordon took part in last week’s Great North Run, to raise funds for our Respite Care Bed. She managed to complete the course in 2 hours and 28 minutes and raised over £500 for our charity.

She says “Thank you for all who have supported me. It was a great day made all the more special as it was the first mass participation event post Covid. There was definitely a feel good factor at the start and the supporters turned out along the way . I really enjoyed running back across the Tyne bridge and finishing in Newcastle- looking forward to next year’s already!”

The Great North Run

Our Trustee, Maureen Gordon, will be running in the Great North Run on 12th September 2021, in aid of the Charlotte Straker Project. We want to wish Maureen the very best of luck and we’re very grateful that she’s decided to fundraise for our charity.
 
You can see her fundraising page at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MaureenGordon1
 
Please help clicking on the link above to donate – all donations are gratefully received!

£500 donation from the RW Mann Trust

A huge thank you to the RW Mann Trust who have donated £500 to our Respite Care Bed service. The grant will enable us to continue providing respite care services to our local community, which is a vital support for carers and families.

Celebrating special days with cake and family visits

This month we celebrated the birthdays of our residents Pat and Colin – our Head Cook made two amazing birthday cakes (including one filled with chocolate buttons!) which formed the centre of a birthday tea. Our residents enjoyed their special day including presents and visits from their family and loved ones. Happy Birthday to you both from the staff and trustees at Charlotte Straker House 🎂 🎁 🎈 🎊 🎉 🎉

Update from Chair of Trustees and our Latest Newsletter

Our latest newsletter is now available! Please click the link below to read our news and fundraising information.

https://mailchi.mp/07e211e232cb/our-latest-newsletter-10899194

UPDATE FROM BERENICE GROVES, CHAIR OF THE TRUSTEES:
It is hard to believe how quickly the months are flying by, we are already into September and starting to think already about Christmas plans!!
We are trying as much as possible to return Charlotte Straker House to its former place that is known to be a warm, happy and welcoming environment. However, this comes with difficulties as we all know Covid-19 has not gone away and therefore we need to continue to work within the guidance and ensure the safety of all of our residents and staff.
August has been a busy month, both with new residents entering our home, and many bookings for our respite care bed service. The weather has been very mixed, but our residents have taken every opportunity to sit outside in the warm sunshine and enjoy a visit from the icecream van – it was a lovely hot day so the cool ices were very welcome! We are looking to involve our volunteers once again, in supporting an activities programme, to reflect the needs and wishes of our residents, and we are really looking forward to welcoming them back into the team at Charlotte Straker. I am sure many of you have followed our updates with the wonderful photos showing the residents starting to mix again.
Due to the number of new admissions (which is really positive), Charlotte Straker House now has limited room vacancies available and our respite care bed is now booked up until December – however please call our office on 01434 633 999 if you are interested in our available rooms or would like to check on respite care availability. Occasionally our respite care bed will become vacant due to booking cancellations and these dates will be advertised on our website, on email and social media.
I’m delighted to announce that Sam Willis has been appointed as our new Deputy Manager at Charlotte Straker House. I’m so pleased that Sam has decided to join us as she will be a great addition to the team, on behalf of myself and the board I’d like to welcome her into the Charlotte Straker family and hope she will enjoy working with us for many years to come.
As everyone is aware charities have been hit hard over the pandemic and fundraising is a real struggle. We are still busy raising funds for our Respite Care Bed and have applied to over fifteen different grants to ask for donations to our service. We are also asking families across the community to think of our project when setting out legacies. We received a generous grant from The Joicey Trust this month and we are waiting to hear back from other North Eastern grant foundations. Our individual fundraisers are also doing a wonderful job – Sue Stevenson has raised over £900 and our team at the Corbridge Car Boot sales have raised £300 over the summer. Unfortunately our Summer Fete will not be going ahead this year. We have carefully considered the risks and issues and decided that cancelling the Fete is the only responsible decision at the present time. We will hopefully return in 2022 and once again be able to hold the fete in Charlotte Straker House grounds.
As ever, please don’t hesitate to contact the office on 01434 633 999 or email if you would like to discuss anything in our latest newsletter, linked above.