Spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon once a month, or once or twice a year, making a difference to isolated, lonely over 75's in the Thornbury area..
Contact the Elderly is looking to build on the existing 3 groups in Bristol and set up more small, local friendship groups in areas across the city, but cannot do it without some new volunteers getting involved. We would love to set one up in the Thornbury!
Contact the Elderly is a small charity but across the UK it has nearly 400 local groups running, involving nearly 5000 volunteers, and 3000 isolated over 75's. One Sunday afternoon a month, throughout the country, Contact the Elderly groups meet for tea and companionship. These groups are a lifeline of friendship for older, isolated people. Each older member is assigned a volunteer driver and together they become part of a small group invited to a volunteer hosts' home for tea with the other members of the group. They visit a different host each month but the group remains the same and relationships grow.
A warm welcome; a family home; meeting old friends and new, provides older members with companionship and a vital link with the community from which they have become isolated. This simple idea is the essence of Contact the Elderly.
Could you be a:
Driver - be a regular or a reserve driver, picking up one or two elderly members once a month on a Sunday afternoon.
Host - offer to hold a tea party in your home, twice a year - you just need a downstairs toilet and easy access and a big teapot!
Administrator - help to coordinate a local group, look after the schedule of hosts and drivers, and meet new older people/volunteers. Just a flexible few hours every month, plus going to tea parties where possible!
For many of our older guests the monthly tea parties offer something to look forward to and get dressed up for. Edith, 85, "I thought I had come out of a dark tunnel into the light. Before I joined Contact I thought my life was over, but now it has started again". We are also keen to hear from you if you would be interested in being a guest. Sunday is often a very lonely day, when other activities are not available - tea parties can help change that.
Please contact Helen Ker 0117 960 9606
helen.ker@contact-the-elderly.org.uk
www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk
Contact the elderly trustlocal
