What is Caring at Christmas all about?
The GCA’s Caring at Christmas campaign is about taking Christmas cards to those who aren’t able to visit the High St, and help people connect with their loved ones at Christmas. Also we hope by helping care home residents to write and send cards, that they will then receive cards back! And we can start a wave of Christmas card sending!
This initiative has been growing each year and in 2024 we’d love to see even more GCA members across the country get involved. So below is a handy guide explaining how you can get involved, lots of top tips from those who have joined in previously, and free marketing material to download.
We want to encourage everyone to join us in spreading the spirit of giving cards and to help generate media interest and excitement this Christmas. It’s not too late to get involved – there are care homes throughout the country eager to participate.
We have care homes that want to be contacted
The GCA have 25 care homes wanting to be connected with GCA members!
Locations include: Drumahoe, Crewkerne, Barnsley, Wymondham, Halesowen, Maidstone, Johnstone, Beckenham, Macclesfield, Higham Ferrers, Liverpool, Esher, Bicester, Newport, Skipton, Houghton-Le-Spring, Holmer, Isleworth, Leeds, Manchester and Clifton Upon Dunsmore.
It will give our residents a feeling of purpose, independence and continued communication. Many of the older generation have for years sent their cards… It will evoke memories and assist reminiscence. A lot of mental and physical wellbeing can be enjoyed by this simple act. Thank you for the opportunity.
Care Home Manager
If you are able to visit a care home in one of the locations above please email Adriana
How Caring at Christmas Started!
In 2022, Matt Genower of Five Dollar Shake came up with a heartwarming idea to bring joy to local care homes by introducing cards and assisting residents in writing heartfelt messages to their loved ones, igniting the Christmas spirit. The initiative was met with such enthusiasm that we felt compelled to expand it nationwide in 2023, with the participation of GCA members. This year, we are excited to continue this tradition and inspire a widespread movement of card sending!
Matt Genower, Managing Director at Five Dollar Shake and Jimmy writing Five Dollar Shake cards
Abacus Cards in Bury St. Edmund’s Cornwallis Court Care Home on the 2nd November 2023.
The idea of taking Christmas cards into care homes came about from a local pensioners association leaflet dropped though my door. The flyer listed the numerous activities on offer throughout November & December, one of which was ‘Christmas Card Writing’. Having my father-in-law recently taking up residency at a local care home it got me thinking:
Many care homes will put on various weekly activities, depending on their residents capabilities; everything from bingo to quizzes, kite making to chair yoga. And Christmas creates many other potential opportunities for activities, such as wreath making, carol singing, pantomime etc.
So in early November last year, we at Five Dollar Shake contacted a couple of local care homes for the elderly. The premise was simple; our staff bring in our Christmas cards to a home & offer an ‘activity’ whereby residents can choose some cards to be sent to their loved ones. We help them choose designs and write out the cards, addressing envelopes with them, there and then. We then offer to take their cards to be stamped/ franked and duly posted.
It was a real hit – the residents enjoyed choosing the cards and we had a great time chatting to them and helping them to write their messages to their loved ones.
Ultimately the initiative is about two things; firstly, showing the good that Christmas card writing does, and secondly, it’s genuinely a really lovely & rewarding activity to be a part of. Our two visits last year had a really positive impact. Our goal is to spread this right across the country, in as many care homes as possible – There is such an opportunity to spread the good that our industry can do.
Matt Genower, co-owner Five Dollar Shake
GCA Members Caring at Christmas 2023
Last year GCA members across the country teamed up to visit local care homes. This included Five Dollar Shake, Roger la Borde, Abacus, Max Publishing, GCA’s CEO Amanda Fergusson, Loxleys, Really Wild Cards, Paper Salad, Ling and GBBC, Woodmansterne and UKG.
Five Dollar Shake headed to Hastings and St Leonards on the south coast, having already developed relationships with local care homes the previous year. Five Dollar also swapped cards with other GCA members to offer residents lots to choose from.
Jakki Brown, GCA Council member and md of Max Publishing visited Berehill Care Home in Whitchurch, Hampshire where her father is a resident, armed with a selection of donated cards from The Art File, Paper Salad, Raspberry Blossom and Stormy Knight as well as pens donated by Pentel.
As my visit coincided with Dad’s 87th birthday it was especially poignant. In common with many of his fellow residents, Dad has advanced Dementia, but it came across loud and clear that they all loved selecting just the right card designs for their loved ones and friends.
One lady was so keen on a “beautiful card” from The Art File that she asked me to write it to her
Jakki Brown, MD Max Publishing
Roger La Borde were pleased to “sprinkle a little Christmas card joy to the residents” in two North London care homes, with GCA’s Amanda Fergusson taking cards donated by Second Nature and GBBC/Ling into a care home in Twickenham.
The lovely team at the care home were so welcoming and it was very special helping residents choose and write their cards. A highlight was seeing two residents, who needed help remembering names, sign cards ‘love mum’; I can only imagine the joy of their children receiving their cards and seeing their mother’s writing
Amanda Fergusson GCA CEO
Loxleys visited residents at Sheffield’s Valley Wood Care home in Heeley, delighting residents and manager Louise Crocker, and achieving some great publicity in the Sheffield Star.
We were so pleased that the team from Loxleys called in to spend time with our residents and help them complete their Christmas cards for family and friends.
Louise Crocker, manager Valley Wood
UKG visited care homes in Batley, Dewsbury and Huddersfield West Yorkshire.
We took cards to write, colouring activities, and one of our team led carol singing with her guitar, as well as plenty of chocolates.
We all had a great time, and the care homes really appreciated our visits.
Heather Clarkson, Internal Communications Manager
A team from Ling Design in Bath went into the Rush Hill Mews care home in Bath, writing over 50 cards with over a dozen residents. Volunteers from their sister firm, GBCC (The Great British Card Company) in Gloucester called into the Stratton Court care home in Cirencester, supporting residents to write and send over 100 cards. Meanwhile over in Bury St Edmunds, Iain Hamilton and team at Bewilderbeest headed into Nowton Corut care home, sharing cookies and jokes with residents.
We loved sitting down with residents and writing cards with them. They came with their address books and their lists and were so excited when we arrived!
Patsy Gould, Marketing Manager GBBC/Ling
Some of them needed some help and we were delighted to post the cards on their behalf.
We sent out all the cards on 1st December – Festive Friday, the perfect time to post them. It’s the day greetings publishers post their Christmas cards.
“I hope they will encourage the people who receive them, their friends and family, to write back to them. “It would be lovely if care home residents receive lots of cards this Christmas. It means a lot to people
Sarah and Kelly from Stormy Knight, Lizzie from Penguin Ink and David from Ricicle Cards joined forces to visit Bishopsmead Lodge Care Home in Bristol; both residents and staff joined in to write the cards, and also the local Bristol Post newspaper ran a lovely piece sharing the story with their readers.
Meanwhile the some GCA members extended the initiative by donating cards to charities. Woodmansterne supported Crisis at Christmas, and Second Nature and Belly Button donated cards to a Salvation Army hostel.
A massive thanks to Woodmansterne for their donation…. Crisis will be providing a warm welcome for people experiencing homelessness at our residential hotels and day centres across London, where they will receive companionship, food and the support they need to begin their journey to leave homelessness behind.
We all know the joy of opening up a greetings card, and on Christmas day our guests will wake up to their own card in addition to a traditional Christmas lunch and the support of our army of volunteers.
Crisis at Christmas
Matt’s Top Tips to Get Started
- There will be a number of homes for the elderly near you. Homes vary in size and we found it easier to liaise with medium to large (anything from say 25 residents and above) homes. Most have somebody who organises activities and secondly, not all residents will be able/will want to take part.
- We contacted the home managers in early November, highlighting the fact that we & our staff were local to them and letting them know we would we like to donate some cards to their residents as well as our time in helping them with the writing of them (don’t forget, many just won’t be able to write too well).
- Once you’ve agreed a date, give them a poster to put on the notice board to announce the date that you are coming in so they can have their address books ready! Also this will let visitors know who may need to supply addresses. Please feel free to Download and use our poster below.
- Have a think about what cards you could take in. Designs suitable for older daughter & sons and younger grandchildren were popular. Be prepared for brutal feedback… Not everyone loved our cards! You could always look at teaming up with other local publishers to offer a variety of styles and make the event even more fun!
- Take pens with you.
- Some residents of course may want to give out their written cards by hand to visitors, but many will need to be posted. Think about offering to help frank / post their cards – This will help save money on a cost they may not be able to afford, as well as encourage early card sending which will hopefully starts a chain reaction of reciprocal card sending.
- How many cards you take depends largely on how many residents take up the activity. It is essential that the activity is promoted to residents, and their visitors, in advance, so ask that they do this. We wrote three cards (on average) per attendee.
- We took a variety of designs and around 60 to 80 cards with us.
- Don’t forget to promote it as a fun activity, feel free to put on that ridiculous Christmas jumper or a hat! It’s a great way to engage with elderly residents who just may not see too many visitors.
- There are 400,000 elderly care home residents in the UK in over 11,000 homes. Any care home that has organised activities will be crying out for different, new ideas to integrate with their residents.
- Ask any senior staff/ management if you can take some pictures of the activity and let them know that you’d love to let the local papers know about it. It’s great promotion for the home too! Many local newspapers have easy ways of letting them know about news and events so check their local website. Use our news template below as a guide.
Share the Joy!
We hope this initiative will start a wave of Christmas card sending across the country. And that the residents of care homes across the country will receive lots of cards back!
Please email adriana@gca.cards to let us know the home(s) you are visiting, or if you know a care home and aren’t able to visit yourself but would like us to find a local publisher who perhaps could
Further Information
For Christmas stats and fun facts to share, use for your local media/press releases, see our Who Sent the First Christmas Card blog
To download and use our FREE #Cardmitment toolkit click here
For all the latest #Cardmitment news
Find out more about Festive Friday , the day when everyone in the greeting card industry posts their Christmas cards
What makes us British? Our Mantelpiece
The History of Greeting Cards – look back at 100 Years of Greeting Cards
Our #Cardmitment campaign is receiving media coverage across the country, including national coverage on BBC Breakfast and Radio 5 Live among others, click the link above to our blog to see all the latest coverage.
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