Help Organise Afternoon Tea For The Town’s Elderly

Volunteer-led organisation, Surrey, East and West Sussex Contact The Elderly is appealing to Crawley residents to help plan Sunday afternoon tea parties for isolated older people in the town.

The potential Crawley group would join the more than 800 Contact The Elderly groups found throughout the UK which link volunteers with those in need and who would like to attend the parties.

For a Crawley group to be launched, the organisation needs six hosts who would welcome people into their homes twice a year, and four drivers who will pick up and accompany the older people to the parties.

In addition, each group needs a skilled and effective co-ordinator who is responsible for making sure that the Sunday afternoon tea parties run smoothly and that all needs are catered for.

Julia Rivas from the organisation’s development office, says: “We already have a handful of volunteers keen to get going and a small number of older people on a waiting list for the afternoon tea parties.’

“It’s wonderful to see groups develop. Through our volunteer network, we offer a simple yet hugely effective act of friendship, providing a lifeline of companionship” Julia adds.