On Friday 1 December, we hosted a fundraising day for the charity CLAPA at Sonya Lodge Residential Care Home.
CLAPA stands for the Cleft Lip and Palate Association – a national charity for people born with cleft lips and palates and their families, who can provide one-to-one support, online support groups and help people share their experiences. They receive no government funding and rely on donations.
Our Deputy Manager Abigail’s beautiful baby, Maisie, was born with a cleft lip and palate and this charity has been a massive support to baby Maisie and the family.
CLAPA are organising a ‘big give Christmas week’ and any money donated to them will be doubled, with all money raised being be used to support them. Just £10 raised will provide two soft bottles for babies with a cleft.
Maisie’s auntie, our Senior Carer, Amelia, suggested we hold a fundraising day here at Sonya Lodge, so we began planning. And what a great idea it was! We contacted CLAPA and they happily sent us a fundraising pack with balloons, tablecloths, banners, information, a donation tin and stickers, and Amelia kindly got some delicate cake toppers made. To add to our display, we had blue streamers and pinned up pictures of Maisie to add a personal touch.
On Friday 1 December we held our event featuring lots of wonderful donations, cake sales and t-shirt sales. We had an array of delicious treats on sale including sticky toffee pudding cake, Maderia loaf banoffee cheesecake, a big blue ‘CLAPA’ themed cake and gorgeous cupcakes. A special thank you to our Well-Being and Recreation Coordinator Deanne for her fabulous cake decorating!
Throughout the day we had a few visitors; Abigail, baby Maisie, Maisie’s big brother Alfie, Maisie’s grandmother Dionne, her auntie Amelia and our Business Support Officer Amanda.
A group of our team members had matching ‘CLAPA’ t-shirts to help visually spread awareness and our ladies and gents enjoyed lots of cuddles with baby Maisie throughout the day. Maisie was very settled and even fell asleep on some of our residents!
It was such a heartwarming day, with everyone coming together for Maisie and her family. Abigail’s family would like to say how thankful they are for everyone’s support. Overall, Sonya Lodge managed to raise an amazing £600 for CLAPA. This money will make a big difference to people’s lives and here at Sonya Lodge we are very proud. We are incredibly grateful for everyone’s donations and support for this charity.
