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Update on Susan’s slimming challenge – 17 pounds lost so far!

Susan Stevenson, has taken on a challenge in aid of the Respite Care Service at the Charlotte Straker Project, to lose 2.5 stone in six months.
Susan is fundraising in memory of her mum Marian Moon who was cared in Charlotte Straker House and used their Respite Care service.
Susan told us that “I am delighted to fundraise for the Charlotte Straker Project Respite Care Bed Service, as I’d like to ‘give something back’ for all the care my lovely mam had from the charity. It gave my family peace of mind knowing that she was in good hands. Since starting my slimming challenge I’ve already lost 17 pounds which I’m really pleased with. The challenge is also a way to give me the support and encouragement to get my weight and health back on track! All donations, big or small are gratefully received and I’ll keep you updated with how I’m getting on.”
Susan’s target fundraising amount is £1,000 and she has already raised £750 with donations from friends and supporters.
Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees added “We are so grateful to Susan for deciding to fundraise for our charity and we’re very impressed with her progress so far! Our Respite Care Service needs to raise £30,000 to keep the bed open for the next twelve months and we are therefore very appreciative of all fundraising efforts from our supporters. We’ve been cheering Susan on from the sidelines and we can’t wait to see her future progress photos. We’re hoping that people will donate to help our charity and also to give Susan support and encouragement in her challenge.”

Our latest newsletter and update from Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees

Update from Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees

PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE OUR LATEST NEWSLETTER

We are definitely feeling a Spring in our step now that the warmer weather is here at Charlotte Straker House and the sun is shining . Life at Charlotte Straker continues to be a challenge with measures in place to continue to keep our residents and staff safe. It is recognised just how difficult the management of preventing covid spread is and the impact it is having on everyone therefore we are aiming to look for new opportunities and things that will continue to raise spirits.

We are now well on with our rolling refurbishment of our rooms and communal spaces and I’m delighted to announce that we have received a £15,000 grant from Nick Oliver, Northumberland County Councillor which will support delivering some of the new improvements. Please see the link to our newsletter above for the full story and how this much needed money will be spent.

Our office staff are regularly receiving enquiries for residential, respite and nursing care places and both Pam and I are delighted to have started welcoming new residents to Charlotte Straker House.  We do still have some nursing and residential vacancies, so I’d be grateful if you could forward this link https://charlottestraker.org.uk/nursing-residential-care to anyone who might be interested in our services.

It’s wonderful to see our respite care bed back in use, and we have already booked in some short term respite residents over the next few months. We’ve had some wonderful testimonials from users including this comment from a gentleman who stayed recently, “The staff were lovely people, and if everybody ran a business like Charlotte Straker, then we would never have any issues.” The gentleman’s wife also added, “The staff were very caring and supportive and that is important for someone like my husband who has a range of needs and this re- assured me that he was being looked after.” Again, if you or anyone you know would like to take advantage of free of charge respite care breaks, please forward our eligibility and booking procedures, which can be found on this link https://charlottestraker.org.uk/respite-care/

We are busily fundraising for this essential service and we have some great opportunities in the next few months, including the chance to sponsor myself and Maureen Gordon, Trustee in the Great North Run, a Charity Walk planned and supported by our staff, fundraising via the Corbridge Car Boot Sale every Wednesday, our Crafty Women gifts and Susan’s wonderful Slimming Challenge. Please see the link to the newsletter above for more details.

Pam and I would like to send our thanks to all those who have continue to support us over the last few months – we are delighted to be now able to look forward to a more settled future at Charlotte Straker House.
 
Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees

 

 

 

Thank you to Nick Oliver for our £15,000 grant

The Charlotte Straker Project is delighted to announce that they have received a grant award for £15,000 from Nick Oliver, County Councillor for Northumberland.  The care home, which is based in Corbridge, relies on grants and donations to provide residential, nursing and respite care to the elderly and those who need care in Northumberland.

The grant money will be used to fit a new ensuite bathroom in an upstairs room, the purchase of essential kitchen equipment and storage cupboards and a commercial grade heated bain-marie to enable staff to serve hot food on the upper floor to those who are unable to access the dining room.

Berenice Groves, Chair of the Trustees, said “We are thrilled to have received this support, thanks to Nick Oliver, and we are confident that the new equipment and resources will improve the comfort and safety of our much loved residents. After the recent Covid pandemic, we are keen to start looking forward and thinking of our future plans, and this substantial grant will allow us continue with our rolling refurbishment of our rooms and communal areas.”

Nick Oliver commented, “I’ve always been a staunch supporter of the Charlotte Straker Project as I have seen our important their residential, nursing and respite care has been to our local community. I am delighted to be able to grant this funding, which will be used to improve essential facilities and the comfort and safety of the residents. The new equipment and refurbishment will be an important part of their future plans, and will provide a much needed boost, after the recent anxieties surrounding the Covid pandemic.”

Fish and Chips from the Angel of Corbridge

Huge thanks to our friends The Angel of Corbridge who provided our residents with a delicious Sunday lunch of fish and chips last weekend. Resident Mary Y commented “the fish was the best I’ve had in years as it was so fresh.” and Joy L added “the meal was gorgeous, the fish batter was lovely and crisp, the meal was still warm and it went down very well!” The staff at the Angel have always been so helpful to our charity, and their kindness in supporting our elderly residents is much appreciated. Berenice Groves, our Chair commented “It was so kind of the Angel of Corbridge to arrange a special take out for our residents, who definitely enjoyed the delicious meal. Massive thanks from me for the Angel for all their support.”

Thank you to Hexham Rotary Club

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Hexham who made a very kind donation of hand cream to Charlotte Straker House. President of the Rotary Club of Hexham, Miles Middleton, popped by to hand over the gift to our Chair of Trustees, Berenice Groves. The handcream they gifted has been a huge help as many staff members are suffering from cracked skin through constant cleaning and handwashing. Thank you again to the Rotary Club of Hexham for thinking of us.

Happy Retirement to Carol Hall and Carol Scott

This month we said goodbye to two much loved and long serving staff – Carol Hall and Carol Scott.

Carol Hall started work with us March 1997 as a Care Assistant and through her years at Charlotte Straker proved to be focussed and passionate about her work. Carol always gave our residents the very best in kind and patient care. She will be a huge miss to our residents and our staff due to her professionalism, kindness and excellent support.

Carol Scott has been part of the Charlotte Straker team since 2011, when she also started work as a Care Assistant. Since then, her wicked sense of humour, honesty and kindness has been a mainstay at Charlotte Straker House, and she was very much loved by past and current residents and staff members.

Both members of staff showed the most important quality of all when caring for previous and past residents; kindness. This meant that both were willing to spend time with each resident, finding out about their lives, enjoying long conversations and treating each resident with dignity, patience and respect. They were also very supportive of the staff team and made some long and enduring friendships.

Pam, our Manager, and Berenice, our Chair commented “We are sad to see Carol H and Carol S leave Charlotte Straker, but we would like to thank them for their positivity, commitment and support, especially during the recent Covid crisis. We wish them both a long and happy retirement and hope they will pop in to let us know their latest news!”

Charlotte Straker Fete on 11th September 2021

A date for your diary! Our popular Charlotte Straker Project Fete will be held on Saturday 11th September this year, to raise funds for our Respite Care Service. The venue will be decided nearer the time, but will be either in Charlotte Straker House gardens or the Parish Hall in Corbridge.

Counselling for good mental health

Thanks to a generous grant from the Community Foundation we are able to offer all our staff counselling to help them deal with any mental health difficulties arising from the Covid pandemic.

The funding will pay for virtual counselling from the Newcastle branch of MIND, the mental health charity plus counselling from the Sands Counselling services in Newcastle. Through their two counsellors, Susan and Sacha, we are able to offer staff either telephone or, individual and group to group counselling to support with de- brief and promoting mental health well-being.

Pam Crawley, Registered Manager commented “Since the Covid outbreak our team has experienced some very stressful and upsetting moments. The mental health status of our staff team is a priority and we wanted to ensure that they have the support and coping strategies they need to recover from the recent months. We would like to thank the Community Foundation for granting the funds so that we offer Charlotte Straker employees a choice of high quality counselling and well being support. There has already been a number of staff who have accessed the programmes and we hope they will find the treatment useful in managing the impact from traumatic memories and experiences.”

Susan’s Sponsored Slim for Respite Care Services

A local lady, Susan Stevenson, is taking on a “sponsored slim” challenge over the next six months, on behalf of the Respite Care Service.
 
Her mum, Marian Moon was cared in Charlotte Straker House and used our Respite Care service.
 
Susan told us that “I am delighted to fundraise for the Charlotte Straker Project Respite Care Bed Service, as I’d like to ‘give something back’ for all the care my lovely mam had from the charity. It gave my family peace of mind knowing that she was in good hands. My current weight is 18 stone 7 lb and I am aiming to lose 2.5 stone in 6 months. I also need the support and encouragement to get my weight and health back on track! All donations, big or small are gratefully received and I’ll keep you updated with how I’m getting on.”
 
Susan’s target fundraising amount is £250. We are so grateful to her for deciding to fundraise for our charity and we want to help her in any way that we can! Can you help Susan by giving her the support and encouragement she needs? Her Virgin MoneyGiving page is https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SusanSlimChallenge – we’ll keep you posted with Susan’s progress and cheer her on from the sidelines!
(the photo shows Susan with her mum Marian Moon)

Nursing and Residential Room Vacancies

The Charlotte Straker Project is now completely Covid free and is now pleased to be taking admissions for new residential and nursing residents. To protect against infection, all new guests will stay in our state of the art “Welcome Suite” for 14 days, with dedicated nursing, meals delivered by our Head Chef and enjoyable personalised activities, before they are moved into their chosen room in the main house.
 
Our rooms have undergone a deep clean and we have a rolling refurbishment programme with luxurious furnishings, flooring, curtains, bedding and welcoming new colour schemes. All our rooms are ensuite, with modern bathrooms with the latest accessible equipment and we also have an innovative cutting-edge bathroom with an integrated jacuzzi for any resident who enjoys a proper deep soak! Our communal areas have been recently refurbished and include comfortable accessible furniture, designed to encourage friendly conversation and grouped chat.
 
Our brand-new accessible visitors’ pod provides a safe, warm environment where visitors can meet their loved ones. The pod has two separate entrances, one for the residents to enter with the staff, ramped for easy access and one for family. The interior is decorated with beautiful photos chosen by our residents, is easily cleaned, fully heated and meets the highest level of infection control requirements.
 
In the warmer months our beautiful gardens come into their own and residents love sitting on our flower filled decking area, enjoying the sunshine and idyllic scenery.
 
Our care is bespoke: we genuinely know and love our residents, and tailor everything to the individual, their likes and dislikes, their preferred lifestyle, interests and personality. Our meals are restaurant quality and crafted by our experienced Head Chef from the freshest ingredients and designed to cater to individual tastes and care needs. We encourage our guests to continue their hobbies and interests and we have a stimulating and appealing programme of in-house activities and outdoor excursions.
 
To enquire about our room vacancies please email office@charlottestraker.org.uk or ring our office on 01434 633 999 (option 1)