Australian actor and activist Ruby Rose, has digitally adopted a grandparent as part of a drive to combat care home loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic, and is now set to become a celebrity patron of the charity.
Developed by a Surrey and South London based care home group CHD Living, the Adopt a Grandparent scheme is centred around connecting the public with care home residents, helping them to form meaningful, intergenerational relationships.
Originally launched last Autumn, the campaign sought local volunteers to physically visit the homes to meet and bond with the residents. However, with the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on movement limiting family visits to the homes, the group decided to take the campaign digital in March 2020 – harnessing video technology to spread the message further and encourage connections from anywhere in the world.
CHD Living’s call for ‘virtual volunteers’ to chat with their residents by video call saw almost 80,000 people signing up from across the world, who were looking to lend their time and companionship, including celebrities such as Ruby.
Having learned of Adopt a Grandparent by Bitsie Tulloch – a fellow actor who has also been paired with an adopt a grandparent participant – Ruby signed up at the end of March, just as the world was adjusting to life in lockdown and enforced isolation.
Discussing her reasons being part of the Adopt a Grandparent family, Ruby said: “In my pre-teens and into my teenage years I used to perform in a nursing home with my church choir. I absolutely loved performing for the residents, but what I loved even more was when we would spend one on one time talking, reading and playing games. When I found out about this programme I was so thrilled by the prospect of being able to do that again, so I signed up immediately.”
The programme, which matches volunteers with residents based on shared interests, paired Ruby with 87-year-old movie fanatic Iris, who resides at CHD Living’s The Summers care home in West Molesey, Surrey. The duo now speak at least once a week, connecting across the Atlantic Ocean via video call.
Speaking of their relationship, Ruby says: “I was very lucky to be paired with Iris. She has a heart of gold and a wicked sense of humour. We talk about our lives, share stories and I send her DVDs because I know how much she enjoys watching films. Iris doesn’t have children of her own but she does have lots of friends and I am blessed to call myself one.”
Iris adds: “Speaking to Ruby has become the highlight of my week, I always look forward to receiving her calls. We get along so well and I’m really enjoying getting to know her and hearing all about the exciting life she leads. I’m so grateful to my care home for providing me the opportunity to develop such a wonderful friendship”.
Having signed up for the program and gone through the screening process firsthand before being paired with Iris, Ruby developed a genuine interest in and passion for the project and was encouraged to be involved further.
Now, as a patron of Adopt a Grandparent, Ruby has committed to publicly supporting the campaign and will be getting actively involved in the development and promotion of the initiative, helping to raise awareness and funds with the aim of turning Adopt a Grandparent into a global movement combating loneliness amongst the elderly.
“The ‘Adopt a Grandparent’ programme is a simple idea, which CHD Living have executed brilliantly. It is easy to be part of and extremely rewarding for both the volunteer and the ‘Grandparent’. It is about connection and friendship, which are two invaluable things – particularly at this time – and I would recommend it to absolutely anybody. I’m delighted to be working with Adopt a Grandparent and can’t wait to see where we can take this campaign together”, Ruby concludes.
Following the huge success of the programme, CHD Living is now in the process of registering the ‘Adopt a Grandparent’ with the charity commission as a social, not-for-profit enterprise.
The group is asking for public support in fundraising to launch the charity, as well as for the development of an app, which will help to orchestrate and manage the volunteer and resident pairing process. Funds raised will also go towards the forming of partnerships with other care providers, enabling as many residents as possible across the globe to participate in the programme.
Shaleeza Hasham, Head of Hospitality and Communications at CHD Living, says: “To know there are so many people like Ruby out there wanting to offer companionship to our service users is so moving, and seeing the difference it makes to the wellbeing of our residents is just wonderful. Ruby and Iris are a brilliant example of how mutually rewarding the program can be, and we are so grateful for Ruby’s continued support. We look forward to working more closely with her in taking the campaign global, connecting residents and volunteers from all over the world and combating loneliness on a larger scale.”
Person Centred Software, a UK technology company and developers of an app-based Mobile Care Monitoring system that allows care home staff to digitally record the care of residents as it is given, has kickstarted CHD Living’s fundraising with an initial donation of five thousand pounds.
Care homes interested in joining the scheme should register their interest by visiting https://chdliving.co.uk/careproviders-aag-form and filling in the form. From here, representatives from CHD Living will be in touch to discuss the next steps.
Members of the public who are interested in enrolling can register interest via https://chdliving.co.uk/adopt-grandparent.
Anyone interested in donating to ‘Adopt a Grandparent’ can do so by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/f/adopt-a-grandparent-app
