Tameside’s Fabulous Fun Day
One of our services in Tameside held its first ever Fun Day for tenants and families with stalls, quizzes, bingo and a disco on the patio. Residents gathered outside in the beautiful weather to catch up, eat hot dogs and listen to tunes on the decks.
Ben, Housing Manager at Anchor housing association, is a DJ in his free time. He volunteered to spin the discs, and everyone was doing the ‘Macarena’ and having a laugh trying to remember whether the dance began with the head or hips. Ben also ran a movie soundtrack quiz with 12 theme tunes to guess. It was fierce competition as people cautiously guarded their answers. With her sound musical knowledge, Jean won a bottle of Chardonnay and flowers donated by Anchor.
After the quiz, some of the residents took their family members for a wander round the garden and visited the stalls, including the tombola and raffle. Margaret, who lives at the service, ran a stall selling trinkets and CDs. She said, “I always like running a stall!”
Volunteer Social Lead Trish sometimes runs her own stall called “Trish’s Treats & Treasures” at the service. Trish said “I love the residents,” and this was clear by the way she coordinated the activities to ensure everyone could get involved. Meanwhile, Lin who runs a knitting group at the service and has become friends with many residents, handed out poppets designed to help people with dementia to relax.
With much anticipation, the raffle winners were announced. Janice, Catering Manager at the service, won first prize – £50! This was a wonderful surprise as she’d already donated a significant amount to the raffle.
The bingo had some eclectic prizes. Sue, a person we support, was quick to get the first line, but laughed when she found out she won a tin of Heinz curried beans! Trish gave her a pack of biscuits to make up for winning the booby prize. Angela, who we support, was thrilled to win a huge teddy bear called Henry.
Many of the residents spoke about how much they enjoy living at the service and can’t wait for future Fun Days. Jean, who had only moved into the service a couple of days before said, “I’ve not slept a night here yet, but I’m delighted to be enjoying a Fun Day already!” Angela said she loves living at the service as “it’s very pleasant company and very supportive.”
Tameside’s first Fun Day, organised by Administrator Louise Hadfield and Senior Support Worker Nicola Oates, was a huge success. Louise said, “This is Tameside’s first ever Fun Day and everything was donated by the residents, their families and staff members to raise money for the social fund. I think it’s amazing and I feel very humble that families and the service have got together to put on this event. It’s a great atmosphere and people are here with big smiles on their faces.”
See the full gallery of photos from the Fun Day below:
