A WOMAN from a village near York has been nominated for a city award in recognition of her commitment to improve the delivery of care to others.
Ella Bond, 22, from Long Marston, has been nominated for Carer of the Year in the York Community Pride Awards 2024.
The senior care assistant at the Chocolate Works Care Village in Bishopthorpe Road has been in post for a year after a recent promotion.
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Ella said: “I was so shocked when I heard I’d received a nomination I could hardly speak.
“Even just to be recognised is hard to believe.”
The nomination testimonial said 'Ella deserves every award in the book'.
Ella said her role is all about overseeing resident care on the floor she works on and ensuring residents feel their care is person-centred and that they’re being treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve.
'Getting to know their stories, from a generation that has done so much, means we can all learn so much from them'
She takes particular pride in creating ‘memory scrap books’ with images of residents’ activities, birthday celebrations, along with images of special events such as ‘musical memories’, where she takes photos of the dancing and singing that goes on.
Ella said the books help to connect family members, who cannot always be there, to residents who come to the care home until, unfortunately, they pass away.
“We treat residents as family”, she said, “I worked on the dementia floor for two years and when I got my promotion, I went to the residents’ floor.
“But every day, I always go back to the dementia floor to see one gentleman I built a rapport with.
“I built a memory scrap book for him and when he looks through it his eyes always light up.
“Even though he cannot express himself I feel like for me it is building a bond and that reminds me that this is why I do this job.”
Ella said she’d always been quite a caring person and always wanted to look after other people.
She said: “When I was slightly younger I wanted to be a teacher but as I got older I realised what I actually found interesting was looking after the elderly.
“Getting to know their stories, from a generation that has done so much, means we can all learn so much from them.”
Her work has been recognised by employer Springfield Healthcare – Ella was the recipient of an in-house ‘dignity champion’ award last year - with a testimonial stating ‘Ella helps to mentor new staff starting their journey in care and is always seeking ways to improve herself to enable her to be the best she can be.'
She said: “I run a shift so there are carers that are under me and I ensure that shifts all go well.
“I always try to ensure that my positivity and enthusiasm spreads to them.
“Obviously the job can be so difficult and can at times be quite sad and I just try to bring a bit of joy to work and try to make everyone, staff and residents a little bit happier, and make them smile.
“I’m always dancing and singing along, I think that most people think ‘Oh God, here comes Ella’, as I come whistling down the corridor.
The main thing for me is that I try my best I just try to ensure I can do everything in my power to make someone smile.”
Nominate your community heroes here
Do you know a remarkable person or group who make their communities a better place and are worthy of applause and recognition?
Nominations are open for York Community Pride Awards 2024, held by The Press.
This year’s categories are:-
Public Sector Hero - someone who works in the public sector and has gone that extra mile to help others or use his or her skills to assist others or improve their environment.
Health Service Hero - every day, an army of unsung heroes quietly go about their duties in the health service. We’re looking for that special someone whose dedication is second to none.
Carer of the Year - this award recognises the contribution of an individual care worker who strives to improve the delivery of care. This person must demonstrate outstanding levels of commitment to care and put the person being cared for at the heart of what they do.
School of the Year - this award will recognise a school which has had a positive impact on its pupils and the wider community.
Volunteer of the Year - for an individual who gives freely and unselfishly of his or her time to help others.
Young Person of the Year - many young people under the age of 16 make an excellent contribution to their communities and this award recognises the importance of young people in our region.
Charity Fundraiser of the Year - this amateur fundraiser need not necessarily have raised the most cash, but will be judged on innovative fundraising methods and the personal effort involved.
Best Community Project - for projects carried out by an informal, non-recognised voluntary group (recognised or registered voluntary organisations such as Rotary, Round Table or Lions Clubs are not eligible).
Education Hero of the Year - this award will recognise an individual who works in the education sector, from the Head to a site manager and everyone in between. This person will have gone above and beyond in the last year. They could have provided outstanding support for pupils, demonstrated real creativity to delivering learning experiences and inspired youngsters and colleagues with their resilience and positivity.
York Community Pride Outstanding Contribution Award - for an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to promoting pride in our city or our community.
Sports Person / Team of the Year - this award will recognise an individual or a team in a sporting discipline, individual sport or sporting event, that has achieved the most notable performance in recent months and shown examples of outstanding commitment, dedication and enthusiasm in their chosen sport.
All nominees must live in York or surrounding areas and contribute to their local community.
The awards will be judged by an independent panel, and the three finalists from each category will be invited to the awards ceremony.
You can make an entry using the QR code (pictured).
To do this, use a smart phone’s camera to scan the QR code.
Wait for the link to appear, then click the link, where you will be redirected to the nomination form.
Alternatively, the link to the form is https://forms.office.com/e/BmPdduicvx
Nominations must include a supporting statement with each entry.
The closing date for entries is June 10.
We’d like to take a moment to talk about our Charity Partner the NSPCC.
The NSPCC makes a huge difference to the lives of the children and young people they support, particularly through their Childline Service which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to give children and young people a voice when no-one else is listening.
There are so many issues facing children and young people with Childline receiving a call from a young person every 45 seconds on average.
From these calls mental and emotional health and wellbeing remains a top concern for children and young people.
Every penny we raise will help Childline give children and young people the help they so desperately need.
Thank you all for helping us support such a vital charity.
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