What a fantastic year 2024 has been for Homecarers Care Services, we have held some fabulous fundraisers for various charities, celebrated some outstanding staff achievements, and more importantly, provided exceptional care you can trust.
Let’s run over what we have gotten up to throughout 2024 at Homecarers Care Services!
January
In January, took part in our annual Skipathon, fundraising for Bowel Cancer Research UK and raising awareness for a fantastic cause. We also listened to Deputy Manager, Michaela, talk about her experience with bowel cancer. She talked about her symptoms, the importance of getting checked at your GP, treatment she had and diagnostic procedures. This ultimately helped raise awareness for bowel cancer, and highlighted the importance of recognising symptoms and getting them checked to decrease chances of bowel cancer progressing further.
We also held a drop-in session at one of our local community centres in Knowsley, the Maggie O’Neill Business and Training Centre, as a drop-in session for job seekers and those wanting to enquire about our services.
February
In February, we learnt all about the training that we offer in collaboration with our training provider, eduk8. Ian is our incredible trainer from eduk8, who teaches all of our new starters everything they need to know about care, from manual handling to the person-centred approach to care. To watch the full video, please visit our Instagram page here.
We also spoke to Deputy Manager, Michaela, about her career progression story, from when she first started with ourselves in 2011 to now. Michaela originally started working as a Care Assistant in the Norris Green and Croxteth area, to then progressing into a mentor for new staff in 2014. After this, she then moved into Compliance in 2015, which involved reviewing medication, reviews, and care certificates for staff. She then moved on to become a Care Co-ordinator in 2016, and applied for the Deputy Manager role in 2022. Michaela has been an essential part of our team throughout her journey here at Homecarers, whilst also completing her Level 5 qualifications!
March
March was a busy month for fundraising at Homecarers – whilst our branches in Cheshire took part in Red Nose Day for Comic Relief, our branch at Liverpool took part in ‘Wear it Yellow’ day for Marie Curie. We raised substantial amounts for each charity, with a whopping £350+ for Marie Curie! We want to say a massive thank you to the teams who took part on the day.
We also welcomed a very exciting charity partnership with the Care Workers Charity on the 22nd March 2024. The Care Workers Charity are the only UK charity which aims to support health and social care staff with financial aid and mental health support, including; crisis grants, free counselling sessions, and other mental health support.
April
In April, we held some exciting celebrations for our Carer of the Year at our Liverpool branch, Paula Dewar, surprising her with some lovely gifts and some beautiful flowers. Paula was nominated by a number of service users and even carers for the Carer of the Year award, mainly for her dedication to the role and the amazing service she provides each day for our clients. Paula always goes above and beyond and her work-ethic is admirable.
In Chester, we spoke to HR Assistant, Tricia, about her journey from Care Assistant to HR Assistant. Here is what she had to say: “I found the transition from Care Assistant to HR Assistant quite easy as I had also worked in a care home as a Business Administrator, so some things were very similar, but also the support I had when I first joined made the transition easier from a care home to community care as this is something that I had never done and knew very little about what the role entailed. I would recommend anyone to join Homecarers as we all look out for each other but also like being a carer, every day is different.”
May
Back in May, we held a fantastic VE Day in our Liverpool office, inviting a number of service users and carers to join us on the day. We put on a fabulous spread, and even held a VE Day themed quiz – we all had a fantastic time!
Over in Cheshire, we spoke to Mark, the trainer from our training provider in Cheshire (Richmond), about his role and why he loves teaching people about the world of care. Here is what he had to say: “I have a proven track record of delivering induction and refresher training for Homecarers Care Services (formerly known as Starcare) since 2015, coupled with extensive experience in providing care induction and first aid training qualifications across the UK. My commitment to professional development is evident through continuous enhancement of knowledge of the health and social care sector. Passion drives my work, as I strive to equip staff with the essential skills needed to excel as compassionate and effective support workers/carers.”
June
In June, we held a team meeting with our Care Assistants from Anfield and Everton, management, and Co-ordinators, communicating with our incredible care staff who are working out in the community – above is a picture of our Anfield and Everton care team at their team meeting in June with Deputy Manager, Nicola, and Senior Quality Officer, Marie!
In Cheshire, we also celebrated a office staff promotion – we said a massive congratulations to Anna on her promotion from HR Administrator to Regional HR and Training Officer! Anna has been with Homecarers Care Services since May 2022, and has shown exceptional work ethic and dedication to her role.
July
At our Liverpool branch, we held a fantastic Indeed Hiring Event at the West Derby Methodist Church, where we conducted over 18 interviews. As a result, we have had 5 new hires!
At our Cheshire branch, we celebrated another staff achievement in July – we said congratulations to Michelle Jennings on completing her Level 2 Apprenticeship with Richmond Training and achieving an exceptional Distinction! Here is what she had to say:
“I thoroughly enjoyed doing my apprenticeship, using the bud system was easy to navigate and without the coaching from my trainer (Samantha Vernon) I wouldn’t have succeeded with a distinction – she was amazing. I’m looking forward to completing my level 3 to gain more knowledge and skills and working towards my best potential as a support worker.”
August
In August, we seen our service users and caregivers at our Liverpool branch form a special bond over delightful flower pots. It’s been rewarding to witness their joy in not just nurturing flowers, but also relationships. We also raised an INCREDIBLE £120+ for Breast Cancer Now at our head office fundraiser!
We also welcomed our new Registered Manager at our head office in our Chester branch – Jessica Merritt! Here is what she had to say: “I have really enjoyed my time so far; every day is something different and although it comes with it’s challenges, it is certainly never dull. I like how we are growing developing meaning we are always looking into new ways of doing things and being innovative”.
September
In September, both of our branches celebrated Professional Care Workers week by taking part in the CCS group fundraiser for the Care Workers Charity on the 17th September – in total, we raised over £150 for the charity!
This was a big month for fundraisers, as we also held a Macmillan Coffee Morning at our Liverpool office, raising over £100 for the cancer support charity!
October
Cheshire followed suit in October, hosting another Macmillan Coffee Morning, in support of the incredible charity and raising valuable funds.
To finish off the month with a bang, both of our branches held a regional Halloween fundraiser for the children and baby’s hospice in Liverpool, Zoe’s Place, who were at risk of closing, meaning families in need could not use their valued services. Across the two branches, we raised an INCREDIBLE £300! As a result, we were able to help Zoe’s Place reach their fundraising goal, meaning they were able to stay open to provide essential services to those in need.
November
In November, we congratulated 2 of our incredible Care Assistants, Sharon Borthwick and Vicky Crawford on their 17+ years of outstanding service with Homecarers Liverpool! Joining the company back in 2007, Sharon and Vicky have shown exceptional standards of care throughout their career, championing the incredible service we provide here at Homecarers.
In Cheshire, we spoke to Registered Manager for our Winsford office, Vicky Latham, about her career progression journey. Here is what she had to say: “I am really enjoying extending my knowledge completing my level 5, and I am finding it useful applying it to my role. Trying to fit this in a full-time role has been challenging, and I have faced some difficulties along the way, but now I have a very strong tutor who I have a strong working bond with”.
December
As we do every year, we ended the year with a bang in December. Over the 2 branches, we kept ourselves busy with putting together our annual Christmas hampers for our service users, hosting our annual Christmas party in our Liverpool office, sending out our Christmas newsletters and taking part in Christmas Jumper Day for Cash for Kids.
Our staff worked incredibly hard this month, ensuring we spread some festive cheer, putting a smile on our service user’s faces.
A Thank You
What an incredible year 2024 has been – We want to say a very special thank you to all of our staff who have worked so incredibly hard this past year, and a big thank you to all our service users who have chosen Homecarers Care Services as their care provider.
Here is to many more years of exceptional care to come, and we hope you all have a fantastic New Year, filled with joy and prosperity.
