Apprentices at Victoria Court care home collect clothes for homeless charity

Two care home apprentices were so moved by the plight of homeless people in their local area that they have collected two boxes of clothes, toiletries and food for them.

Georgia Brown, 18, and Amy O’Dwyer, 16, who work at Anchor’s Victoria Court in Ilkeston, have chosen National Apprenticeship Week to collect adult clothing for homeless shelter Ilkeston Winter Shelter in Nottingham Road.

The pair also plan later this year to collect new pairs of socks and fill them with toiletries as the second phase of this campaign.

Georgia said: “I felt that not enough was being done to support homeless people in the area 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 Ilkeston 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 Victoria Court have donated items.”

Georgia and Amy, who have been apprentices since November last year, said they wanted to work in the care sector because she wanted to help older people.

Amy 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.