A charity relay was run by residents and staff at two residential care homes.

Dunmow Broadcast: L-R: The two organisers of the event Nadia Algazar and Kirsty Fenlon joined by Head of Activities Jo Crosby and resident Brenda Boley travelling with the baton to The New Deanery.L-R: The two organisers of the event Nadia Algazar and Kirsty Fenlon joined by Head of Activities Jo Crosby and resident Brenda Boley travelling with the baton to The New Deanery. (Image: Archant)

The baton was carried across the county by people from the New Deanery and St Mary’s Court residential care homes, in Bocking. The race went over five days, visiting 35 care homes along the way and was brought to The New Deanery at the finish.

Resident Brenda Boley took the baton to St Mary’s Court care home and passed it to St Mary’s Court resident Sarah Crow. The baton was then transported to The Moat House care home in Great Dunmow, via the homes’ minibus which was decorated in a royal theme to continue the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations.

Jo Crosby, head of activities at The New Deanery and St Mary’s Court, said: “It’s always a joy to see residents and staff participating in such events. I think it was a great idea and is really nice to see all the care homes come together to raise money for charity.”

The event raised money for cancer charities including CLIC Sargent, Macmillan Cancer Support and King’s College London.

The teams at The New Deanery and St Mary’s Court care homes have had great success over the past few months. St Mary’s Court was commended in its latest Care Quality Commision inspection with the home now rated as good overall with a rating of outstanding for leadership.

At the Skills for Care Accolades Awards, the teams at the two homes beat off fierce competition from across England to triumph in the category of Most Effective Approach to Leadership and Management, and also picked up The Care Home Nutrition and Hydration Award for the East of England Region at The Great British Care Awards.