A leading charity is appealing to older people to end their Covid isolation by joining a 'royal' tea party in Greater Manchester in the run-up to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Re-engage, which is dedicated to ending loneliness among those aged 75 and over, organises hundreds of social activities throughout the UK. These include free, monthly volunteer-led tea parties, tai-chi and yoga classes. But many older people who attended before the pandemic have not returned, the charity said.
CEO Meryl Davies said: "Our tea parties are a social lifeline for many older people. Even during normal times, many don't see another person from one week to the next, and of course, Covid exacerbated that massively. Older people have so much to offer to their communities and making links across generations enriches the lives of everyone involved.
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"Our social gatherings allow people to form friendships and enjoy simple pleasures of life which are incredibly beneficial to health and wellbeing. Just having a cup of tea and some cake is a lovely way to pass an afternoon.
"But it can also be the highlight of the month - and not just for the older guests."
Before the pandemic, Re-engage supported tea parties across the country attended by around 7,000 guests. Now it is trying to encourage older people in Oldham, Stockport, Bury, Tameside and other parts of Greater Manchester to return and celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year and ‘be treated like royalty.’
Mary, who is partially blind and was recently widowed after being married for 60 years, said: “I have no friends and I haven’t a big family. I can’t go out much, so I really look forward to the Sunday outings.
"I can’t tell you how much I enjoy it. I don’t know what I would do without the tea parties- if I don’t have them, I have nothing."
Another guest said: “I’ve greatly missed the tea parties during lockdown. They are my only weekend outings.
"Without them, I have slowly become a zombie.”
Sarah Newell, corporate partnerships manager at Re-engage, said: “Our events were hit particularly hard during Covid, so we now need help to re-build them. As well as encouraging older people to join our tea parties, we’re also asking businesses to sponsor them.
"Supporting these groups ensures vulnerable, isolated older people can get free, regular companionship for years to come. And there’s no better time to do it than during this Platinum Jubilee year when they can be treated like royalty”
The monthly tea parties are usually hosted at a volunteer’s home. Guests are driven to and from the events by other, vetted volunteers.
As part of its plans to encourage older people to engage in social sessions, Re-engage intends to extend its gentle activity groups beyond Wales and West Yorkshire, where tai-chi and yoga have proved highly successful.
During the pandemic, Re-engage set up a telephone befriending service which continues to involve thousands of older people receiving a regular call from a companion to ensure they have a regular social connection.
To join a group in your area, or volunteer for Re-engage, you can check out the charity’s interactive map here to see where there are spaces: https://www.reengage.org.uk/volunteer/map/
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