Raquel Pena Aristizabal, Activities & Volunteers Manager at the Charity’s Surbiton Home, triumphed in the Care Activities Coordinator / Facilitator category at the awards ceremony in London on 30 November.
The Care Activities Coordinator / Facilitator category recognises people who make an exceptional contribution to the quality of life, health and happiness of all people they support through the activities they provide.
Raquel, who joined the Charity in 2013, said: “It was wonderful spending the evening surrounded by so many inspirational people. I’m so happy we won, but I would not be standing here with this award if it weren’t for the amazing staff and volunteers I work with. This reflects what we all do at The Royal Star & Garter Homes, and illustrates our hard work, passion and drive to deliver the best person-centred care possible.”
The Surbiton Home offers over 50 events and activities to its residents each week. Raquel, from East Molesey, organises visits from local military organisations and schools, crafts, films, musical events, group exercises and therapies, quizzes, cookery classes and tastings, and seasonal celebrations. The Spanish-speaker has even started teaching Spanish lessons to veterans at the Home.
Pauline Shaw, the Charity’s Director of Care, was delighted to see Raquel’s efforts recognised. She said: “It is a joy to watch Raquel at work. Her passion, enthusiasm and energy are boundless and contagious. It brings out the best in the people she works with, and she is much loved by residents. We are lucky to have her, and I think this award is well deserved.”
Also present at the ceremony was Charity volunteer Diane Greenman, who was invited as a representative of all the volunteers who give up their time to help the Charity. She praised Raquel’s work: “There’s such warmth and friendship in the Home and I think a lot of it is instilled by Raquel, and the amount of hard work she puts in making it feel bright, happy and joyful.”
The National Care Awards is an annual event organised by Caring Times magazine, a management magazine for the social care sector. It celebrates the best talent in the long-term care sector, highlighting excellence and rewarding those who work tirelessly to provide outstanding care.
Raquel’s award is the latest accolade The Royal Star & Garter Homes has received at the National Care Awards. In 2015 the Solihull Home won awards for Best Dementia Team and Best Resident / Relative Contribution. And the following year, the Home in Surbiton won Best Interior Dementia Design.
The awards evening took place at the Hilton London Metropole, Edgware Road, in Paddington.
For further information please contact:
Goolistan Cooper
Communications Officer
e: goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org
t: 0208 481 7669 / 07391 868796
Cally Madden
Marketing & Communications Manager
e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org
t: 020 8481 7692 / 07881 017299
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide specialist care to the whole military family in our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes. Disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and their spouses, can all benefit from our pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care.
We are in the process of building new Homes around the country to provide specialist nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings, including dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The Charity has award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey, which also enables the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. Following the successes of the first two Homes, a third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is being built, with a planned opening in 2019.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk.
