A charity which has four groups in Renfrewshire is appealing for older people who live alone in the region to join its free monthly afternoon tea parties.
Contact the Elderly offers a lifeline of friendship to more than 30 guests in the area. It hopes to encourage more older people to enjoy the healing properties of a good cup of tea, a slice of cake and a nice chat with other guests and the charity’s volunteers.
Guests are collected by a volunteer driver and accompanied by them to a volunteer host’s home in their local area on Sunday afternoon a month.
Caroline McGinlay, Support Officer at Contact the Elderly, said: “Our groups in Renfrewshire are incredibly popular and everyone has a lovely time. We know there are more people out there who would benefit from a nice afternoon and want to encourage people to pick up the phone if they, or someone they know, would enjoy a bit of baking and a blether.
“We understand it may seem daunting to pick up the phone and put yourself out there but our guests tell us every week how glad they are that they did just that and have formed lasting friendships in their groups.
“Additionally, if you know an older person who you think would enjoy this then we would encourage you to find out a little more and chat to them about it.
“Loneliness in older age is becoming ever more common and we are warding that off – one cup of tea at a time.”
To find out more about becoming a guest of Contact the Elderly in Renfrewshire, please contact Caroline on 0141 812 1555 or caroline.mcginlay@contact-the-elderly.org.uk.
What is Contact the Elderly?
The Contact the Elderly model is based on a simple yet very effective model: free, monthly tea parties for small groups of older people and volunteers within their community – which bring all ages together, develop fulfilling friendships and support networks, and give everyone something to look forward to
Contact the Elderly currently has over 600 groups throughout England, Scotland and Wales, providing a regular, consistent and vital friendship link every month to over 4,800 older people.
There are currently over 7,800 volunteers supporting the groups: volunteer drivers collect the older guests from their homes and accompany them to tea parties, while volunteer hosts hold the tea parties in their homes
As part of its continuing Power of Contact campaign to recruit more volunteers, Contact the Elderly aims by 2020 to double the number of isolated older people it supports
www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk