Serving up cocktails at care homes

Evenings in care homes can be quiet and lonely, so every week Magic Me volunteers host cocktail parties – an occasion for residents to socialise with friends, family and volunteers.

Kaileigh Hazeldine, and some of the other members of the mental health and capacity and family law teams at Miles & Partners Solicitors, based in the City of London, decided to become involved with this unique and exciting project as regular volunteers.

Kaileigh has been visiting clients in care homes on a regular basis as part of her work in the mental health and capacity law team, offering vulnerable people and their relatives advice on mental capacity to make decisions about health and welfare as well as deprivation of liberty. After seeing for herself the positive impact social activities can have on care home residents, Kaileigh signed up as a volunteer for Magic Me and soon persuaded the rest of the firm to become involved.

‘I could see that it was important for elderly people to be able to socialise and take part in different activities to try and improve their quality of life and Magic Me’s cocktail parties were a great way to give care home residents something different to look forward to’ says Kaileigh. ‘I chose Magic Me as one of my charities when fundraising for my marathon last April as it is such a worthwhile charity and also nominated it to be the recipient of the Miles & Partners 2018 Christmas Card donation.’

The one-of-a-kind initiative is run primarily by volunteers and brings together different generations, from the elderly to the young. The cocktail parties take place at care homes across London and each party is usually themed and can feature live bands or musicians, as well as lots of drinks, dancing and laughter.

In January 2019, Kaileigh organised for Magic Me to come into the Miles & Partners office to give a training session on working with the elderly and people with dementia, enabling all those who attended to take part in the volunteering. Since then Kaileigh and others have been attending cocktail parties at care homes in Tower Hamlets, Surrey Quays and Kings Cross and will continue volunteering on a regular basis.

‘It is always great fun attending the parties and nice to meet and have a chat with the residents who often have great stories to tell.’ says Kaileigh

For more information about Magic Me, including details on how to volunteer or donate, please visit their website – https://magicme.co.uk/project/cocktails-in-care-homes/

For more information about mental health and capacity legal services offered by Miles & Partners Solicitors, please contact Kaileigh Hazeldine 020 7426 0400 or email kmh@milesandpartners.com.

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.