Hunters Down Care Home in Huntingdon recently received a generous donation and lovely accompanying from employees at the Royal Mail. The letter read, “ Please accept this donation from the Royal Mail for the care you are giving our work colleague Jeff… We all donate a part of our wages towards a care society which make regular donations to charities and care places as yourselves. Please let Jeff know we are thinking of him… And a GREAT BIG THANK YOU for taking care of him.”
Jeff lives at Hunters Down Care Home and was a postman for 50 years – a job and community he loved to be a part of, but unfortunately had to give it due to health concerns. This was an upsetting period for Jeff, but after receiving the letter and the generous donation he was emotional and felt very much a part of the postal community again. In true postie style, Jeff wrote a letter and posted it back, which read, “Thanks for your help and support. Love, Jeff.”
Receiving the donation and the letter from the Royal Mail prompted Jeff to tell the team more about his lifelong career.
“I worked in the Royal Mail for over 50 year and during that time, worked in a variety of roles including letter sorting, posting and driving.
“Working for the Royal Mail was the first job I ever had thanks to my uncle who put a good word in for me and I enjoyed it so much I never left! I remember being sent to postal training which is where I learnt everything I needed to know about the role.
"Another role I took on proudly during my time with the Royal Mail was as a Union Representative. I enjoyed this role because it enabled me to represent people, so they didn’t lose their job and meant I had to think on my feet to find a solution to the problems people brought to me. I found this to be interesting, enjoyable and rewarding but splitting this role with my duties at the Royal Mail meant I was always very busy.
“During my time with the Royal Mail I built many friendships and connections, but unfortunately lost touch with a lot of people when I had to move away because of my health. However, when I received their lovely letter, it let me know that I am still one of their own. It was lovely to see Debbie's name signed on the letter too. I have known Debbie for many years as we worked together for a long time.”
The team then asked Jeff what his secret to staying in his job for more than 50 years was and he responded, ‘Just enjoy it!’
We would like to send a heartfelt thanks to The Royal Mail for this very generous donation and for making Jeff a very happy man. Their donation will go to Primrose Croft’s comfort fund and help to purchase new equipment and fund exciting days out for the people who live there.