Volunteers And Companions Will Celebrate Friendship With Special Afternoon Tea In Scarborough

Dedicated volunteers who have donated thousands of hours to combat loneliness across the Yorkshire Coast will be honoured at a special afternoon tea this Wednesday.

Fifty volunteers and their companions will enjoy a special afternoon tea in Scarborough this Wednesday to mark Befriending Week.

Age UK North Yorkshire Coast and Moors is hosting the celebration at the Palm Court Hotel to honour residents who provide vital companionship to isolated older people.

Wellbeing team member Tracey Armstrong said:

"This week is Befriending Week, which runs from the 1st to the 7th of November every year.

So, we always try and do something for our befriending volunteers. But this year, we wanted to do something a bit different and invite our volunteers with their companions that they go and visit every week. So, we've got 50 of them coming for afternoon tea at the Palm Court Hotel.

It's just to say thanks to all our volunteers. From September last year to September this year, they've given us 3,150 hours of their time by going visiting a lonely older person."

The befriending project, funded by The Julia Rausing Trust, aims to help older people experiencing loneliness and isolation. Organisers say loneliness often stems from factors such as bereavement, living alone, declining health, and financial worries.

The initiative provides a lifeline to the older community, especially as winter approaches, but it also yields mutual benefits for the volunteers themselves.

Tracey Armstrong said:

"Some of our volunteers say that they do it because they're lonely and isolated as well, but they can get out and about, so they want to become a volunteer so they've got something to do during the week.

Some of my volunteers look after two or three clients, most of them just have the one and all we ask for is an hour or two every week.

I have a gentleman that I look after and I go and visit him every Thursday for a couple of hours and we put the world to rights and or we go out for tea or we have fish and chips at his house. So, yeah, it's a lovely thing to do."

The Gift of Friendship project has transformed lives across the Yorkshire Coast. In Filey, the initiative recently helped a woman rebuild her confidence after she separated from an abusive husband of forty-five years.

After visiting a local drop-in session, she started work at the Filey charity shop and now regularly takes three local women out for walks, shopping trips to Tesco, and weekly Friday lunches.

Tracey Armstrong said:

"She told me that she feels like she has a purpose in life now and her wellbeing is so much better than it was. She has made new friends with the other volunteers in the shop and has been on holiday to France with one of them and on a bus trip with another one."

"She said that coming to the drop-in that day has changed her life and she is so glad she picked up the courage to walk through the door. Her companions speak very highly of her and enjoy the time they have together, going for lunch, shopping at Tesco and looking round the shops in Filey. The Gift of Friendship shows that it's not just helping the client but also helping the volunteer to give them purpose and feel needed in their community."

The initiative is also having a tangible impact on employment prospects for residents in Scarborough. One volunteer, who relocated to the town three years ago, gained crucial reception experience through the befriending project and received assistance in creating an up-to-date CV to secure full-time work.

The Scarborough volunteer said:

"Tracey, you were the first person I contacted at Age UK NYCM by telephone nearly three years ago. Your friendliness and kindness made a strong initial impression. You took the time to explain the various volunteering opportunities available. While seeking employment myself, you have all made me feel like part of a genuinely caring and supportive community."

"During my time as a volunteer, I have gained valuable administrative and reception experience, which I believe has contributed to me securing full-time employment. Age UK NYCM performs incredibly valuable work in supporting older members of the community. It welcomes volunteers of all ages and provides opportunities to develop essential skills across various areas of the organisation."

Looking ahead to Wednesday's event, Tracey Armstrong said:

"We are having an a classic afternoon tea, so I'm looking forward to the scone, jam and cream.

And then we've got a little presentation together for all the volunteers and clients, just to show them how far we've come in a year and what we've done with the funding that we got from the Julia Rausing trust because we couldn't have done this without their funding.

I've asked them all to send me pictures in of themselves with their companion doing what they do, whether that's just sitting having a cup of tea, or playing a board game, or at the garden centre. So, that'll be nice to see them all enjoying themselves with big smiles on their faces. And I think they're all looking forward to coming for afternoon tea to the Palm court."

Residents interested in finding out more about Age UK North Yorkshire Coast and Moors and its friendship services can call 01723 379058 or email tracey.armstrong@ageuknycm.org.uk.