Our charitable giving team supports older people in Bristol and the surrounding areas. We achieve this by providing financial assistance through our Individual Giving Fund. Feedback like this demonstrates the importance of this work. Find out more: www.stmonicatrust.or...

The projects funded by our #ImprovingConnectionsFund have positively reached 999 older people, with even more impact to come through legacy and replication. Find out more ⬇️

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 Coniston Community Association launched Coniston Connects to support older residents in Patchway. Participants reported improved well-being, new friendships and a renewed sense of belonging.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 Alive Activities#ImprovingConnectionsFunds Share and Repair Café created intergenerational spaces where older people could share skills, knowledge and lived experience, from crafts and cooking to tai chi, meditation and home maintenance.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 @TalkClub.Org#ImprovingConnectionsFundexpanded its work with men aged 55+, establishing 10 new peer-led groups — doubling its original target. Combining talking, listening, exercise and creative activities, the project helped increase social connection.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 Carers Support Centre launched a Befriending and Connection Service to reduce loneliness among older carers in South Gloucestershire. Carers were matched with volunteers for weekly calls offering companionship and emotional support.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 St George’s Bristol expanded its Community Ticket Club, removing barriers for older people to access cultural events. Community groups were welcomed to lunchtime concerts with free tickets, hot drinks, and space to socialise.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 Wellspring Settlement delivered seven creative workshop series in art, film and drama for people aged 55+, designed to reduce isolation and build meaningful connections.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 @reminduk.bsky.social delivered a series of well-being courses using creative, physical and reminiscence-based activities for people affected by dementia, responding to gaps in post-diagnosis support that often leave people feeling isolated.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 Bristol Dementia Action Alliance expanded its Dementia Aware Communities work across four villages to improve awareness, accessibility and inclusion for people living with dementia and their carers.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 Vision North Somerset reduced social isolation among visually impaired people aged 55+ through a wide range of inclusive activities, from swimming and lunch groups to gardening, pop-up hubs and mobile libraries.

🌟 #ImprovingConnectionsFund spotlight 🌟 Square Food Foundation expanded its Back in the Kitchen programme to create meaningful opportunities for people aged 55+ to reduce isolation through shared meals, skill-building and social connection.

Since its launch in August 2023, our Improving Connections Fund has supported 10 incredible projects aimed at reducing loneliness and social isolation for people aged 55+. Over the coming days, we’ll be sharing more about the impact of the fund.

Earlier this year we asked for your brightest, boldest ideas to help people live happy, healthy and more independent lives as they age. Out of over 250 ideas, we're excited to share the top ten ideas selected. View the full list and next steps for 2026 👉 www.stmonicatrust.or...

💡 Innovation Forum 2026 – Save the Date. We’re excited to share that our Centre of Innovation are planning our next Innovation Forum on 14 April 2026. If you’d like to be involved, please complete our Expression of Interest by 16 January 2026 👉 forms.office.com/pag...

Ending our centenary year on a high! 🎄 Last night, our Cote Lane gardens became a magical Winter Wonderland to mark the festive season and reflect on 100 years of care. This event was our way of saying thank you to our colleagues and volunteers for their contribution.

As we enter the last month of our centenary year, we'd like to take you back to our summer centenary celebrations. 📹 Our centenary video brings together voices from across our community reflecting on what St Monica Trust means to them. Watch it here: www.stmonicatrust.org.uk/centenary

We’re closing our series of successful Core Funding grant recipients with two final, fantastic charities: ⭐ WE Care Home Improvements ⭐ West of England Rural Network Each of these organisations is making a real difference in our community, and we’re so proud to support them.

Continuing our celebration of our Core Fund grant recipients, we’re shining the spotlight on two more incredible organisations we are supporting. ⭐ @bristolafterstroke.bsky.social ⭐ Swan Advice Network (in B&NES) We’re inspired by their commitment and proud to help support their work.

Today we’re proud to introduce two more incredible organisations we have awarded Core Funding to. ⭐ Age UK Bristol ⭐ Age UK South Gloucestershire We’re honoured to support these amazing organisations and the positive impact they’re making every day.

We’re thrilled to announce we have awarded seven incredible organisations Core Funding to support their vital work. First up, we’re shining the spotlight on @aliveactivities.bsky.social. ⭐ Stay tuned over the next few days as we reveal the rest of the inspiring recipients!

It was wonderful to have @itvnews.bsky.social with us yesterday filming a story about Hundred Not Out, our centenary beer.🍺 Missed the feature? Hear from our residents as they share their pride in being part of this special project: www.itv.com/watch/news/m...

🍺Unveiling our resident-brewed centenary beer, Hundred Not Out! 🍺 In collaboration with @aliveactivities.bsky.social and Wiper and True, this beer marks 100 years of St Monica Trust and was brewed from hops grown and harvested by our residents. 👇 Read more: www.stmonicatrust.org.uk/our-expertis...

💜 Tomorrow is @age-uk.bsky.social’s #SilverSunday – a national day to celebrate older people and tackle loneliness through free events across the country. It’s a wonderful reminder of the importance of connection and community. Find an event near you here: www.ageuk.org.uk/services/sil...

This week, residents from across our sites enjoyed visiting two local breweries, Left Handed Giant and @bristolbeerfactory.bsky.social! We learnt more about the brewing process for our #HoppinessProject where we’re following our hops on their journey to becoming our special centenary beer.

An unforgettable charity dinner in aid of Weston Hospicecare 💜 With amazing food from Pullman Café and live entertainment, it was a great night of fundraising. Together we raised over £3676 to support free palliative care. Thank you to everyone who made this night possible! 🙌

As part of our #HoppinessProject, our residents and colleagues worked side by side to harvest our hops. 🌿 The harvest was a wonderful example of teamwork, #connection, and #contribution. We can’t wait to taste what’s brewed for our #centenary beer! Photos by Guy Manchester, Hoppiness Brews.

🍻 Help us name our centenary beer! 🍻 Tap into your creativity and come up with an inspiring name for our centenary brew. Please send your suggestions to hoppiness@stmonicatr... with a short rationale by Sunday 21 September. Find out more 👉 www.stmonicatrust.or...

As part of a first for @careinnovchallenge.bsky.social, we were delighted to host the Care Innovation Challenge semi-finalists at The Chocolate Quarter last month to pitch their innovations in both B2B and B2C scenarios ahead of the Care Show this October. 💡 Read their blog to find out more!

Thank you to everyone who joined us today, including the Care Innovation Challenge semi-finalists, their mentors, the @ncfcareforum.bsky.social team, and our residents and colleagues. Good luck to the teams at the Care Show in October! @careinnovchallenge.bsky.social #Innovation #CareInnovation

A chance for the @careinnovchallenge.bsky.social innovators to share their ideas with the St Monica Trust senior leadership team! From AI-driven innovations to an oral health solution for people with dementia, their informative pitches are inspiring our own #innovation efforts.

Creating solutions together with the ‘user’ is vital to ensuring new innovations are as beneficial as possible, which is why it’s great to have our ‘resident innovators’ contributing today and sharing their thoughts as the @careinnovchallenge.bsky.social semi-finalists pitch their ideas to them.

Looks like an amazing day of #innovation! Thanks @stmonicatrust.bsky.social for hosting this fantastic meeting of great minds between the @careinnovchallenge.bsky.social semi-finalists & mentors and the resident innovators. What a great opportunity for our Challengers to learn & develop their ideas!

We’re delighted to be hosting the @careinnovchallenge.bsky.social semi-finalists today! These inspiring entrepreneurs, along with the @ncfcareforum.bsky.social team, are joining us to see our flagship #innovation, The Chocolate Quarter, and meet our resident innovators and commercial stakeholders.

We’re proud to support the amazing work @bristolbeacon.bsky.social does with older people, enriching lives through the power of music! 🎶 Bristol Beacon’s Our Music Club makes a real difference to those living with dementia and their carers. Find out more here: bristolbeacon.org/community-pr...

We are proud to have funded the When Advice Really Matters (WARM) service delivered by Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire for two years. 🫂 Referred mainly by GP surgeries and social prescribers, WARM offers crucial advice on debt, housing, and low income. 🌟

What a great day at our Centenary Garden Party last week, hosted at the stunning Old Down Country Park! This free well-being day is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues and volunteers for their commitment and dedication to creating communities where older people flourish.

One week to go until our #Centenary Garden Party at Old Down Country Park! 🎉 This is a free well-being event for our colleagues, volunteers and their families, and a chance for us to celebrate our Centenary and thank them for their hard work.

We would like to offer our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Robert Bourns who sadly passed away last week. Robert had been a Trustee since 2022 and Chair of the Charitable Foundation Committee. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

It was great to be featured in Bristol24/7 as we celebrate our Centenary! Bristol24/7 visited our founding site, Cote Lane, to retrace our journey through time and explore the work we do today. Read more ⬇️ www.bristol247.com/n...

Did you read about our Centenary celebrations on BBC News Bristol? If you missed it, see here ⬇️

We are so proud to be part of the @impactalliance.bsky.social – working collaboratively to address #loneliness in our region. Today we are very pleased to announce our six pilot communities and enabler organisations. For more information, please go to our website: impact-alliance.co.uk

More #Centenary celebrations! 🎉 Last Thursday was a truly special day for St Monica Trust as residents across all our villages and care homes came together for a joyful afternoon of Garden Parties to mark #100YearsOfCare. See more here 👉 www.stmonicatrust.org.uk/our-expertis...

Did you catch us on ITV West Country yesterday? 📺 Ellie Barker joined us at Cote Lane, our founding site, to hear more about our landmark celebration to mark our 100th anniversary. 📹 Watch the full story here (starts from 10 minutes, 34 seconds): www.itv.com/watch/news/c...

🎉 100 years of care 🎉 Yesterday, residents, colleagues and friends of St Monica Trust gathered at @bristolcathedral.bsky.social for a special Centenary Service of Thanksgiving to mark 100 years of compassionate provision - celebrating the Trust's past and looking forward to the future!

We're proud to be fund impactful work through our #DigitalInclusion Fund! 💻 North Somerset Training CIC states that their digital inclusion project we support “has significantly enriched the lives of seniors, promoting digital inclusion and enhancing their overall well-being.”

🤝 #LonelinessAwarenessWeek reminds us that #loneliness is something we can all experience. Promoting greater connections are at the heart of our work — from daily life in our villages and care homes to the projects we fund across the region and our involvement with @impactalliance.bsky.social.

Our villages and care homes have been busy celebrating #NationalVolunteersWeek 🎉 This week is an opportunity to take time to celebrate the invaluable contributions of our volunteers and celebrate their dedication to making a difference in our communities.🌟

Some highlights from our #HealthyAgeing and #CareInnovation Forum! 💡 Earlier this year, we hosted a brilliant day of insight, energy, and #collaboration at our Cote Lane retirement village. 🎥 Take a look and hear directly from those who contributed: www.youtube.com/watc...