AO team brings festive cheer to Broughton House Veteran Care Village
Staff from AO brought some festive cheer to residents and staff at Broughton House Veteran Care Village when they spent a day there putting up Christmas decorations and handing out gifts.
The development, which features a 64-bed care home, independent living apartments, a museum and an Armed Forces Support Hub, provides welfare support and counselling for ex-service people of all ages living in the local community.
All eight members of online electrical retailer’s communications team took part in one of the firm’s Make a Difference days, which helps employees to give back to the community by volunteering with a charity or good cause. The volunteers were the first to be welcomed into the care home since the onset of the pandemic.
Russell Craig, director of communications at AO, said: “What a day! We met some amazing people – staff and residents – and it felt so good to make a positive difference to their day, as a team. We’re so lucky that AO provide us with two Make a Difference days a year and we can’t thank everyone involved enough for giving us this opportunity.”
The visit was suggested by AO team member Scott Bennett after he heard about Broughton House’s work with veterans.
He said: “We enjoyed putting up the Christmas trees and decorations in all of the units, we chatted and had tea with the residents, and we loved hearing all about their lives and histories, as well as being shown round the museum by Broughton House historian Owen Hammond. We also hosted bingo in the Veterans’ Mess, with Christmas gifts as prizes for everyone taking part.
“We’re hoping to visit again on further Make a Difference days, as it was the best teambuilding day we’ve had for a long time.”
Jack Stephenson, marketing and fundraising executive at Broughton House, added: “We’re extremely grateful that the AO team offered to volunteer at our home during this busy Christmas period. They did a fantastic job putting up festive decorations and were great hosts of bingo, even being kind enough to buy gifts for our residents.
“Being able to invite people into Broughton House once again has been wonderful. Our residents love interacting with the wider community, as it provides them with an opportunity to share some of their incredible stories.”
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