Funded by a Frome Town Council Community Grant, Make the Sunshine have been bringing schools and care homes together through creative exchanges. And after two years of swapping boxes, cards, creative challenges and messages, St John’s First School and Rowden House Care Home came together as part of Make the Sunshine’s Happiness Hunt.
The residents were serenaded with some beautiful singing and were treated to a rendition of We’re all Going on a Summer Holiday in costume! Jokes were shared, songs were sung and there was also a fantastic theatre performance from the Shoebox Theatre Company that had everyone giggling along!
Melody Hunter-Evans, Frome Town Council’s Children and Young People’s Officer went along to the event and said: “It was a huge pleasure to be invited to celebrate their intergenerational tea which was funded in part by a Community Grant. It was a delight to see the children and residents chatting and sharing their work together, and you could see the amazing relationship that had been formed through the project. It was lovely to hear about how the Happiness Hunt kept people’s spirits up during lockdown too.”
There were heart-warming stories of the impact of the project, Karen, the Manager at Rowden House described how “the happiness hunt boxes really kept residents going during lockdown – it made such a difference”. Nicole Simmington, lead teacher for the project at St John’s stated, “it was like Christmas every time a box arrived”.
Make the Sunshine hope to continue with the project, and relationships built, in the autumn.
