A Closer Look At Our Wellness Initiatives
We hear so many fantastic stories about the great work that is being done by our teams which shows that there’s more to living in a McCarthy Stone development than simply finding a new home.
Here are two examples of such initiatives to give you a clearer idea of just what we mean:
Singing Our Hearts Out With The Local Community
Ever since 2017, we’ve taken part in local ‘Sing Your Heart Out’ events to help raise money for the Royal Voluntary Service.
These events involve inviting community and school choirs into our developments to deliver performances as part of a ‘festive fundraiser’. At the same time, we aim to raise awareness of how singing can bring benefits to the mental and physical wellbeing of older people.
Sharing her deep love of music and singing, Chief Financial Officer for McCarthy Stone, Rowan Baker, explains the importance music has to wellbeing and to those in retirement:
‘I regularly sing in performances with a choir called Cantabile - I also still sing as a professional soloist from time to time. When I was younger, I was awarded a Choral Scholarship to Cambridge University where I studied Law, and later I was accepted as a postgraduate at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Music is a real passion of mine, and for our homeowners, singing in later life is so important to wellbeing, physical and mental health, but also just having fun! It absolutely ties into everything we’re about at McCarthy Stone in enabling our customers to live happier, healthier lives. There really is nothing like it – it is hugely uplifting.’
Speaking about how such events can support communities, Rowan added:
‘We try to encourage lots of opportunities involving music and other creative arts as part of the regular programme of social activities at each of our developments – there’s a lovely teamwork aspect to singing in a choir and this is especially important when building communities.’
Rowan also discussed how she organised the McCarthy Stone head office choir and a performance at a special Royal Voluntary Christmas concert at the Grosvenor Chapel in London. The singers involved also included Audrey Jenkins and the choir of homeowners at Park House in Hitchin.
‘It was the most amazing experience – we all loved it. It was the Park House choirs’ first proper performance, and they were very nervous, but they did fantastically well in representing McCarthy Stone homeowners across the country, showcasing the fantastic community spirit at developments.’
Piloting A New Fitness Scheme
On top of this, a new initiative for April 2019 will see seven McCarthy Stone developments in the West Midlands piloting a new fitness scheme to help enrich our resident’s retirements by boosting fitness.
To execute this new scheme, team members will be trained to deliver a weekly fitness class in the shared lounges. Classes will include core programmes of balance, aerobic exercises and low impact relaxation techniques that have been carefully designed to meet the needs of the over 60s.
It will also be introducing some zany new concepts and team sports including ‘Arm Chair Volleyball’ and ‘Slipper Soccer’.
Will Purvis, Customer Experience Manager for McCarthy Stone discussed the importance of the new scheme:
“Staying fit and active is important no matter what our age, but when we get older, being active can help reduce illnesses too. At McCarthy Stone we are always looking at value-added ways and services we can introduce, which enrich the lives of our homeowners, and helps them to lead happier and healthier lives.”
We wrote a guide showing you the 5 ways you health improves with age.
