Elf Day fundraising for Alzheimers research at Plymouth Care Home

Staff and residents at a dementia care home in Plymouth have been dressing up as elves in support of Elf Day, the annual pre-Christmas fundraiser organised by Alzheimer’s Society.

Sarah McCaffrey, deputy manager at Butterfly Lodge in St Budeaux, said: “The goal is to have fun and raise money to support the amazing work done by Alzheimer's Society, and we certainly had a fabulous and fruitful day.”

Elf Day is now in its ninth year, having launched in 2017, and usually takes place on the first Wednesday in December, although Alzheimer's Society encourages people to host their event on a day convenient to them.

Sarah McCaffrey said: “We had a full schedule for Elf Day, with activities including a visiting singer in the morning and elf-themed crafts in the afternoon. Residents made paper chains and designed their own elf hats.

“Staff also took part, dressing up and joining in the Elf Day sweepstake and visitors were encouraged to come dressed as elves to win a prize - which was chocolate, because everyone knows elves love chocolate.

“We think this is such a great way to mark the beginning of the festive season – everyone enjoys the idea of being one of Santa’s little helpers and doing some good.”

Butterfly Lodge’s Elf Day activities raised £50 to go towards this year’s £100,000 Elf Day fundraising goal in support of Alzhehimer’s Society, which is one of the UK's biggest charitable funders of dementia research and has contributed over £120 million since 1989.

Sarah said: “The majority of the residents at Butterfly Lodge are living with dementia - a disease that one in three people born in the UK today will develop in their lifetime - so Alzheimer’s Society is a cause close to our hearts.

“They are the only UK charity investing in research into dementia care, cause, cure and prevention and they offer vital support to those who need it, as well as funding groundbreaking research and keeping Alzheimers and dementia generally in the public eye.”

The Elf Day activities were part of a full calendar of events planned for residents in the run-up to Christmas, with future activities including a trip for festive hot chocolate at Plymouth Winter Wonderland, a performance of carols by local school children and a visiting panto.

Butterfly Lodge is run by award-winning care providers Camelot Care who also have homes in Holsworthy in Devon and Bridgwater, Wellington and Yeovil in Somerset.