Apprentice at Wellington Lodge care home collects clothes for homeless charity

A care home apprentice was so moved by the plight of homeless people in Manchester that she has collected a box of tinned food and treats for them.

Kareiss Goodall, 16, who works at Anchor’s Wellington Lodge care home in Waterloo Road, Cheetham Hill, has chosen National Apprenticeship Week to collect the food for homeless people.

She said: “I felt that not enough was being done to support homeless people in Manchester so I chose this week to highlight the great work apprentices do in care homes while also helping the most needy in the local community.

“Every day I help older people from Cheetham Hill so I know what a positive impact I’ve had on their lives. I wanted to do the same for the town’s homeless people.

“I’m so pleased with the response. Staff and the families of residents at Anchor’s Wellington Lodge have donated the tinned food.”

Kareiss, who has been an apprentice since November last year, said she wanted to work in the care sector because she wanted to help older people.

She said: “Older people have done so much for society when they were younger so I wanted to give something back. Working in care has given me the opportunity to develop as a person and help society’s most vulnerable people. This homeless appeal is an extension of that.

“Every day is different and I feel I’m making a positive contribution to the wellbeing of the older people living here.”

Anchor’s apprenticeship scheme, which has been running since 2015, has won many awards, including the Rate My Apprenticeship Award 2017, which saw apprentices from across the UK rate their apprenticeship, basing their views on how valued they feel, the support they get on programme, development opportunities and how much they earn.

The apprenticeship scheme is one of the initiatives Anchor has adopted to help professionalise the care sector and to address the predicted one million shortfall of carers by 2025.