Your news: Charity calling for volunteer drivers

Contact the Elderly, a charity which tackles loneliness and isolation among older people, is urgently appealing for volunteers in Burgess Hill to spare just a few hours each month to drive one or two older people to a local tea party - and enjoy a cuppa and a cake themselves.

The charity aims to relieve the acute loneliness of isolated older people, aged 75 and above, who live alone, by organising free monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for small groups within local communities – providing a regular and vital friendship link every month.

Each older guest is collected from their home by a volunteer driver, and taken to a host’s home, where they join a small group for tea, chat and companionship. It’s a commitment of just one Sunday afternoon per month so volunteering can easily fit into a busy lifestyle.

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Burgess Hill residents interested in volunteering for Contact the Elderly as a driver once a month can contact Julia Rivas, Development Officer, on 01273 805451 or email [email protected]

Contact the Elderly’s Development Officer, Julia Rivas, said: “The charity is committed to offering a lifeline of friendship to the oldest and loneliest people. Anyone who can spare a couple of hours one Sunday a month, has a driving licence, a car, and a capacity for drinking tea, is eligible to volunteer! It’s not a big commitment, and our volunteers genuinely get as much out of the experience as our older guests, so I’m calling for anyone who is interested in giving something back to their community to please get in touch with me as soon as possible.”

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