Our beneficiaries have been helping us capture vital data – both quantitative and qualitative – to demonstrate the social impact of our work. They have given us a fascinating insight into the effects and benefits of a free stay at Kingham Cottage , our idyllic cottage near Bath. It gives us great pleasure to share these findings and thank our beneficiaries for their time and valuable help.
We asked our beneficiaries to rank their wellbeing before and after their visit with us to help us give a numeric value to their health and wellbeing. Before they arrived, the average score was 2 out of 5 (with 5 being high) meaning that they were feeling about 40% of their best selves. They used language such as feeling tired, energy levels being low and not feeling their best.
After a four day break with us, they felt quite different, in fact, the average score was 4.5 out of 5, in other words, they ranked their wellbeing at 90%. That’s a 125% rise in wellbeing. And after only a very short intervention of four days.
When asked to put these feelings into their own words, and to describe the impact on them of their stay at Kingham Cottage, they said, “An ever-lasting memory of us as a family and a lovely break away from the stress of hospital appointments and daily life.”
Another beneficiary said, “It was an amazing ‘gift’: peace, lack of worry and ‘me’ time. There are no words to explain the luxury of not having to actually do anything unless you want to. Add to that the charming cottage and surroundings. Heaven.”
With the increasing understanding and awareness of the impact of loneliness on carers, this testimonial was especially poignant: “[My stay at Kingham Cottage was] a huge boost to me, I had more energy and a feeling of not being so alone, knowing After Umbrage provides this invaluable break in the most beautiful place. [I didn’t feel] as down or depressed as before and I came away with an amazing feeling of hopefulness and happiness.”
Backed by this knowledge and evidence, our burning ambition to reach more carers with our free breaks is fueled even more so. We ask you to help us spread the word so we can help wonderful carers feel hopefulness and happiness as our beneficiaries do. There is much traffic this week with #CarersWeek2018 and we praise and celebrate this initiative to raise awareness of the incredible, unpaid work carers do. We add our gratitude to their enormous economic contribution of £119 billion every year.
Thank you carers.