Girl, 9, calls care home every week to keep residents company during lockdown
Watch the video report by ITV Wales reporter Mike Griffiths
A nine-year-old girl has been calling residents in a Cardiff care home every week of the pandemic to keep their spirits up.
Lilly Hewitt has been keeping in regular contact with her friends at Shire Hall Care Home, sharing stories and having fun with them.
"We talk about each other's days and what we've been doing. Sometimes I ask them what they had for lunch," Lilly said.
"I've been doing it once a week for nearly a year now.
"They're just really lovely people.
"I feel like I've made some people really happy and I've made myself happy because talking to them brightens up my day."
Lilly's regular phone calls are appreciated among her friends in the care home, who said they always look forward to their chats with her.
The care home staff say they are proud of Lilly and everything she has done for the residents.
"Not only has she been doing this for 12 months... we're very proud of Lilly at Shire Hall.
"She was eight when she started Skyping the residents last March and she does it every single week without fail after school, after her school work," Sheila Charles, a staff member at the care home, said.
"She's got to know the residents really well and they've gotten to know her."
Karen Grapes, the care home's manager, said, "We're so proud of Lilly she's just been so marvellous for the residents' wellbeing."
Although it does not end there with Lilly's efforts to help others and put a smile on people's faces.
A committed fundraiser, Lilly has raised almost £1,500 for a Down's Syndrome charity.
She said it's an issue close to her heart.
"I have just finished a one hundred kilometre challenge for the Down's Syndrome Association because it's really close to my family's heart, because my cousin Rupert was born with Down's Syndrome and I wanted to raise some money."
As a gift, the care home has named a star after Lilly.
The nine-year-old says she will keep going as long as there are people out there who would love to talk to her.
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