50 years of tea parties for Contact the Elderly

Nearly 100 people attended a special birthday tea party to mark the occasion.

Worthing town crier Bob Smytherman was the host speaker and guests watched performances by Stagecoach Theatre Arts School and the band Playback.

The charity is dedicated to tackling loneliness and isolation among older people. It is inviting residents in Worthing, Shoreham, Lancing and Littlehampton to join its monthly tea parties and enjoy a few hours of tea, chat and good company.

Currently, the groups in these areas have space for a number of new guests to join and the charity is keen to raise awareness of these openings among the local community.

Contact the Elderly, with the support of thousands of volunteers all across the UK, organises monthly tea parties for small groups of older people, aged 75 and above, who live alone and would like some company on a Sunday afternoon.

Each guest is collected from their home by a volunteer driver and taken to a volunteer host’s home, where they meet with a small group for tea, chat and friendship.

The groups are welcomed by a different host each month but the drivers remain the same, which means that over the months and years, acquaintances turn into friends and loneliness is replaces by companionship.

Julia Rivas, Contact the Elderly’s Surrey, West and East Sussex development officer, said: “For older people who live alone, Sundays can be particularly long and difficult.”

“These tea parties give people a chance to get together with others, make new friends, eat delicious cakes and enjoy a cup of tea.”

“The monthly events make a real difference to the lives of those in the group and we would encourage anyone interested in coming along, or those who know of people to whom it might appeal, to get in touch.”

Residents aged 75 and above, who live alone without the support of family and friends, and are interested in joining the Contact the Elderly group, can contact Juliva Rivas on [email protected] or 01273 401569.

Visit the website www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk For more information.

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