A team from online electricals retailer AO brought some early festive cheer to residents and staff at Broughton House Veteran Care Village when they spent the day there putting up Christmas trees and decorations and handing out gifts.
All eight members of AO’s communications team took part in one of the firm’s Make a Difference days, which enables employees to give back to the community by volunteering with a charity or good cause.
Broughton House in Salford has been redeveloped in a £12.5m scheme to create the UK’s first Veteran Care Village and is currently welcoming new residents.
It has been transformed into a modern complex featuring a 64-bed care home and independent living apartments, an array of modern facilities, a museum and an Armed Forces Support Hub, which provides welfare support and counselling for ex-service people of all ages living in the local community.
The AO team was the first group of volunteers which Broughton House has been able to welcome into the building 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.”
Scott Bennett, one of the AO team, suggested the team visit Broughton House after hearing about its 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 their stories and 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 and goodies 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, said: “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.”
