A local community in Rochdale has come together to donate hundreds of gift boxes to residents in the borough’s care homes ahead of the festive period.
The project is the brainchild of Heywood resident Richenda Mather and her 14-year-old son Ady.
Richenda – who works with her daughter as a hairdresser and was forced to temporarily close her business due to the second national lockdown – launched the heartfelt idea with a social media post earlier this month, and it has since resulted in thousands of pounds being raised, as well as almost 200 festive gift bags being distributed to care home residents, many of whom haven’t seen their families in months.
The pair said the festive gifts would simply cheer the care home residents up, and it doesn’t have to cost much to “make someone very happy”.
In true Greater Manchester spirit, the local community quickly rallied around the idea, and people were soon dropping gifts off at Richenda’s house, sending her money toward putting gift bags together, and one of her friends – who works as a train driver for Northern Rail – even managed to raise an impressive £1,000 in just 24 hours for the initiative.
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Each bag contained a variety of pick-me-ups including chocolates, sweets, scarves, blankets and perfumes.
Richenda also asked a group of childminders if they would consider asking children to make homemade Christmas cards too and in total, the mother and son duo managed to pack around 180 gift bags, which they successfully delivered to four local care homes last week.
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How brilliant is this?
Richenda Mather
Speaking to the MEN on the initiative, Richenda said: “We saw something on telly where there was a nursing home and nobody had seen their family since March [and] my son said, ‘why don’t we do some Christmas gift boxes for these people?’
“So we went and made one and I asked on Facebook whether anyone else wanted to get involved and it just went absolutely mad.”
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Care homes to benefit from Richenda and Ady’s festive gifting project include Springfield Park Nursing Home, Springbank Nursing Home, Beech House, and Tudor Court, with staff sending their thanks for brightening the residents’ days and saying the community coming together in such a way to provide the donations “brought a tear to the eye”.
If that wasn’t incredible enough as it is, the pair even borrowed elf and penguin outfits to dress up in when dropping the gifts off, waving at residents through the window.
“I got a message from the nursing home and they said they are going to go out and buy an elf outfit for the residents as they loved it so much,” Richenda added.
Richenda Mather
Expressing his gratitude to the community for supporting residents, Michael Jones – Manager at Springfield Park Nursing Home – said: “I wanted to say thank you so much to her and her friends and colleagues who have donated to our residents at such a difficult time.
“They are missing out on family and friends visiting and this will be such a great boost for them. It was a massive surprise [and] we weren’t expecting it at all.
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“It has put a smile on their faces.
“There are handmade cards from children in the local area too – they are so heartwarming [and] it brings a tear to the eye. It’s amazing to know that they are not forgotten and that people are thinking about them at this time.”
Richenda Mather
It wasn’t just festive gift bags and boxes donated though.
Enough money was even raised to be able to buy a tablet device for one home, so that residents could stay connected with their families, and staff at the homes also had a surprise too as Richenda said: “At the end of it all, I think we had about £50 left, so we got the staff a bottle of vodka each and some chocolate and thank you cards, as we thought we can’t leave them out,”
After all their hard work, Richenda and Ady have said they would like to send their thanks to anyone who has donated to the successful initiative. She said: “It wasn’t just me who’s been doing this – everyone in Heywood has been contributing,
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“One woman dropped six gift bags off – it really has been madness.”
“It was so worth doing – it was a stressful week but we managed to do it all… I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone [as] I couldn’t have done it without everyone else.”
She continued: “Usually this is my biggest time of the year, so I don’t know if I’d have been able to do it otherwise, but I am thinking about trying it again next year as I have really enjoyed it,
“But with a bit more help dropping them off.”
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From everyone here at The Manc, to Richenda, Ady and the local Heywood community who played a crucial part in contributing at a time when it is truly needed most, we take our hats off to you.
Thank you for helping to keep Greater Manchester great.
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Jack Grealish dedicates first league goal in 16 months to late brother on anniversary of his death
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Jack Grealish held back the tears following his first Premier League goal in more than 16 months, but not in relief after breaking the duck, because it came on a very emotional day for him and his family.
The Man City and England midfielder opened the scoring in the Blues’ 2-0 win against Leicester City on Wednesday night, bringing an end to his goal drought after a total of 473 days.
But what made it even more special is that the game happened to coincide with the anniversary of his late brother Keelan’s death.
Speaking in his post-match interview after picking up the man of the match award, Grealish was in a noticeably quieter mood than his usual charismatic self before revealing that the day marked the 25th anniversary of his younger sibling’s death.
Jack Grealish dedicates his goal to his late brother on the 25th anniversary of his death ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u3toaqZSuR
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 2, 2025
The 29-year-old went on to reveal that the date coincided with Keelan’s passing and acknowledged that it’s “hard on the family but [I’m] happy to score”.
His mum and dad, Karen and Kevin, were up in the stands; it doesn’t need explaining why scoring in that particular moment was so special for all of them.
Clearly stirred by addressing what was a bittersweet occasion, he signed off by adding, “To score and to win was brilliant.”
Keelan Daniel Grealish was just nine months old when he tragically passed away from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) back in 2000 – ‘Super Jack’ was just four at the time.
Paying tribute on social media after the game, the comments below his post were filled with love and support.
Besides the goal itself, the former Aston Villa star was keen to reiterate that he was never brought to the club to score bags of goals and “has a lot more to offer” than just hitting the back of the net.
Touching on his Grealish’s game and the tribute to Keelan during his post-match duties, manager Pep Guardiola went on to add: “Jack is an incredible human being; in terms of gestures and for the other people, he’s incredibly generous.
“I didn’t know that [it was the anniversary of his brother’s death]. I can’t imagine how tough it could be for mum, dad, sister, and all the family. It’s good on this day to remember him, I’m pretty sure they remember every single day.”
A lovely moment from a much-loved character around the Eithad Stadium as well as up and down the country. Rest in peace, Keelan.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Three more points on the board for City and a big moment for the Brummy-born midfielder.
Featured Images — Sky Sports (screenshots via YouTube)
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Morrisons is introducing ‘sensory support boxes’ in stores for autistic and neurodiverse customers
Emily Sergeant
Morrisons is introducing ‘sensory support boxes’ for autistic and neurodiverse customers shopping in its stores across the UK.
Supermarket shopping isn’t always the most pleasant or manageable of experiences for everyone, especially for those who are autistic or neurodivergent – with bright lights, loud sounds, strong smells, and crowds of people making it a rather overwhelming and overstimulating atmosphere.
This is why Morrisons has decided to collaborate with the National Autistic Society to introduce dedicated ‘Sensory Support Boxes’ at its stores nationwide, as a way to both mark World Autism Acceptance Month, and help autistic and neurodivergent customers have the positive shopping experience they deserve.
These boxes have been carefully-developed in consultation with the National Autistic Society to ensure they include the most helpful items.
A range of toys like fidget balls, spinners, and squish mats can all be found inside the boxes – which will be eventually be available in all 500 Morrisons supermarkets by May – to help encourage calmness and focus.
All that customers wishing to access the items need to do is simply speak to a colleague at the customer service kiosk of their local Morrisons store.
More than one in 100 people are autistic, and there are 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK.
Morrisons is introducing ‘sensory support boxes’ in stores for autistic and neurodiverse customers / Credit: Morrisons
Speaking on the decision to introduce the Sensory Support Boxes into UK stores, Joseph Clark-Bland, who is the Community Manager at Morrisons, said: “It’s a priority for us to ensure all Morrisons customers feel welcomed and understood.
“We’re proud to be leading the way in creating a more inclusive shopping environment for autistic people, their families and all neurodivergent people across the UK.
“World Autism Acceptance Month has been a key moment for Morrisons for many years, and we look forward to supporting even more customers via our new Sensory Boxes.”
The introduction of the Sensory Support Boxes comes after Morrisons first trialled a ‘Quieter Hour’ in some of its stores back in 2018, before rolling it out nationwide in 2024 due to its success and positive feedback.
Emily Sergeant -
19th November 2020 
