Getting involved in the community

Involvement in community life is important to us, and to the communities we’re part of. It keeps our residents active and engaged, and gives back to the community our residents’ experience and wisdom.

Which is why we go the extra mile to build relationships with local businesses, charities, schools and individuals.

Bringing the community in

We hold events throughout the year – they’re a great way to meet local people. Involvement with local schools is especially important to us, giving residents the opportunity to talk with children of all ages. We’ll often have nursery children drawing, primary children entertaining or secondary children in our homes on work placements.

We also work in partnership with other organisations to bring the community into our home. For example, some of our homes work in partnership with Age UK to run exercise classes in the homes and invite local people in to join the fun.

Read about Bupa's Global Challenge 2011

Bupa Community Connections

Community Connections is Bupa's employee fundraising and volunteering scheme. Working with a wide range of local and national charities, Community Connections supports and engages with the communities around our care homes.

Examples of our Community Connections activities include:

Community Spirit Week

Every October, we open our care home doors for a week and invite local elderly people who live alone, to join in activities including musical afternoons, quizzes, cream teas and roast dinners.

Communi-tea Week

During this tea-themed week, local older people are invited to visit a nearby Bupa care home to meet residents and enjoy a chat and a welcome cup of afternoon tea.

We like to support the communities in which our homes and our residents are based and do so by working with a wide range of local and national charities.

Some of our recent involvements include:

Activ-eat

Activ-eat is Bupa's fun health education programme for children aged six to nine, which encourages them to eat a balanced diet and lead healthier lifestyles. Bupa volunteers visit schools, teaching children the importance of a healthy diet with activities and games including smoothie making and identifying fruits from around the world.

RSPB

The RSPB has joined forces with Bupa to bring wildlife gardening to our care homes using it’s Homes for Wildlife project. As well as creating more homes for birds and other creatures, the initiative aims to re-ignite a passion for wildlife among our residents from their childhoods - or perhaps spark a new interest. It also offers our residents the opportunity to take part in wildlife related activities, whether this be watching and observing birds on window feeders or building and painting nest boxes.

Musical Memories

This is a partnership with charity 'Music in Hospitals' and involves music ranging from classical, jazz and folk, to music hall and show tunes performed by professional musicians and aims to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of our residents.

Talented musicians perform to and interact with residents, creating a delightful, relaxed atmosphere and a hugely positive experience for our residents.

Footage below shows our residents at Leominster Residential and Nursing Home in Herefordshire enjoying a Music in Hospitals performance.

This is a video showing residents at Leominster Residential and Nursing Home in Herefordshire enjoying a Music in Hospitals performance. A Flash plug-in is required to view this video. Download from http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer

Help and guidance

We’re experts and we’re here to help you.

For help and guidance on aged care advice, call our contact centre at any time (we’re here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) on 0800 011 44 04 or fill in our contact form.

Contact us – contact form

Memory Walk

Memory Walk is Alzheimer's Society's flagship fundraising event. Throughout September, thousands of people will take part in walks across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Read more about Memory Walk 2011