Care village coordinator named “Activity Personality of 2020”

A South Cheshire care village experience coordinator from Crewe has been named Activity Personality of the Year 2020.

Natalie Ravenscroft, of Belong Crewe care village, took home the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) award during a virtual ceremony.

The seventh annual NAPA awards recognise outstanding achievement among its cohort of members from care providers across the UK.

Natalie said: “I’m overwhelmed to be named NAPA’s Activity Personality of the Year.

“I feel so proud and it has given me even more passion to keep doing what I’m doing.

“Activities have such a positive impact on older people’s wellbeing and I can’t thank my team enough for their hard work and support, especially during these challenging times.”

Coming from a family of care workers, Natalie took up the post of experience coordinator at the Brookhouse Drive care village in spring 2018.

Since then she has spearheaded successful initiatives, while building strong local links which have made her a well-known face in the community.

Most recently, she helped launch a call-out to the Crewe community to support the town’s Remembrance Sunday, next month.

The village has worked alongside Crewe Town Council to curate donations of red handprints from the community which symbolise poppies to help mark the national commemoration event on November 8.

Natalie has also worked closely with the LGBT+ community, helping to host Crewe’s first ever Silver Pride event at the village in 2018, and with Bluecoat, Liverpool’s centre for contemporary arts, as part of a joint research project to use the arts to improve the lives of those with dementia.

Last month, Belong residents celebrated Arts in Care Homes Day by taking on the role of ‘life models’, recreating some of the world’s most iconic portraits, including works by Picasso, Van Gough and Frida Kahlo.