A Burnaby seniors’ home is looking much brighter thanks to a few kind souls and some fresh flowers.
Jennie Hollinshead, the receptionist at Fair Haven Burnaby Lodge seniors’ home, decided the outdoor courtyard needed a change.
“The garden was ugly. It was overgrown with St. John’s wort, and there were roses, but you couldn’t see them till they bloomed,” Hollinshead said.
Last summer, Hollinshead teamed up with two family members of a resident to spruce up the courtyard, where residents like to sit. The ladies’ auxiliary donated money for flowers, and they planted rhododendrons, azaleas, geraniums, peonies, lilies, clematis, pansies and hydrangeas. It wasn’t till this year that the garden really took hold, and residents are spending more time enjoying the courtyard, Hollinshead explained.
“If it puts a smile on my residents’ faces, then I’ve done my job. And when they tell you it’s beautiful and they appreciate it, you feel really good,” she said.
Fair Haven’s Burnaby Lodge has 110 residents who receive 24-hour care. Fair Haven is a non-profit faith-based organization that provides more than 350 Burnaby seniors with low-cost housing and residential care.
