Fore! – Care home residents put(t) their golf skills to the test!
Residents at NorseCare’s Lydia Eva Court in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth have been enjoying a crazy golf session using equipment specially made for them by a local Men’s Shed community organisation, using funding from Active Norfolk.
NorseCare teamed up with the Poringland Men’s Shed – a community organisation who meet regularly to make woodwork projects for the local area – and set them a task to make five sets of crazy golf holes. Each of the sets will be shared across 5 of NorseCare’s care homes in Norwich and the East coast. The first 5 hole ‘course’ was completed this week and used for the first time at Lydia Eva Court care home, where up to 89 people living with dementia are provided with care and support.
Residents, families and representatives from Active Norfolk and the volunteers from Poringland Men’s Shed gathered in the sunshine in the gardens of Lydia Eva Court to watch as residents took part with NorseCare’s Activities and Wellbeing co-ordinators.
Henry Gowman, one of the volunteers from the Men’s Shed spoke about the project; “It was delightful to see the residents using the equipment and their evident enjoyment. To see our work being so well received gives us the confidence to make the next batch of games.”
Sandra Drake, NorseCare’s Volunteer and Wellbeing Co-ordinator added her thoughts: “We want to thank Active Norfolk for providing us with the funding and the Men’s Shed for making this happen. It’s an activity that families and friends can enjoy together now and for the future. We can’t wait to get the other courses finished and out to the other homes.”
Resident Evan at Lydia Eva Court enjoyed his day: “I’ve never played golf before, I didn’t realise how good I was at it!”
Ryan Hughes from Active Norfolk, who provided the funding for the project via their SAIL project, also took part on the day: “The crazy golf sets are part of our SAIL project, which looks to not only encourage residents to be more active, but to try and do this in the outdoor environment where possible. There are numerous positive effects upon wellbeing from being able to spend time outdoors, and by providing different opportunities within the gardens of care settings, we are hoping to encourage people to enjoy being outdoors as much as possible.”
As part of their Wellbeing Strategy, NorseCare are committed to providing the widest variety of activities, events and opportunities to residents and tenants. Activities and events are focused on providing personally tailored, stimulating and engaging activities to support residents’ wellbeing, influenced by their life histories and linked to areas of wellbeing including physical, sensory, cognitive and spiritual needs.
