Pupils extend a lifeline of friendship to older people in Colwyn Bay

Home » News » 2011 » July » Pupils extend a lifeline of friendship to older people in Colwyn Bay

Jane Carey-Evans of Contact the Elderly
Young pupils representing countries as far afield as Hong Kong and Germany hosted a lovely tea party for older people from Colwyn Bay on Sunday. The tea marked the launch of a new initiative which will see the pupils welcoming a small group of isolated older people from the town to tea once a month.

Contact the Elderly, which worked with Rydal Penrhos to set up the teas, is a charity which aims to relieve isolation amongst people over the age of 75, by organising monthly Sunday tea parties for small groups and volunteers within their local community. Each older person is collected from their home by a volunteer driver and taken to tea with a volunteer host for the afternoon. The group will be warmly welcomed by the pupils and staff each month, which means that over the months and years, acquaintances turn into friends and isolation is replaced by companionship.

The older members of the friendship group, the majority of whom are in their 90’s, enjoyed their first tea party hosted by the pupils in St John’s Church rooms on Sunday, 26 June and Karen Teal, Art Teacher at Rydal Penrhos said “the pupils really enjoyed themselves hosting this lovely group. More than 10 of our pupils came along and worked very hard with the preparations, serving the tea as well as clearing up afterwards, one or two of the girls even brought some lovely home madecakes with them. I think the main thing they enjoyed though was chatting to all the older members of the group, because we have pupils from such diverse backgrounds the ladies seemed to enjoy finding out where everyone was from.”

New research released earlier this year has highlighted the link between loneliness and ill-health in later life, including depression, certain heart conditions and even Alzheimer’s disease. Contact the Elderly remains steadfast in its belief that its monthly Sunday tea parties, which offer a regular and vital friendship link every month, exist as one of the most effective preventative measures of tackling this growing issue.

Contact the Elderly’s Regional Development Officer for North Wales, Jane Carey-Evans, said: “The new research highlights just how damaging and depressing being lonely in later life can be, but happily the Rydal Penrhos friendship group in Colwyn Bay can go some way towards tackling this issue locally and on a practical level. I’d like to thank all the staff and pupils who will be involved with the group on a monthly basis, and a special thanks to them all for making the first tea such a wonderful occasion for the guests.”

“Anyone interested in learning more about this group, or one of the other 20 Contact the Elderly groups across North Wales, please do get in touch with me.”

Colwyn Bay residents interested in volunteering for Contact the Elderly, or people over the age of 75 who would like to find out more about joining one of the charity’s local friendship groups, can contact Jane on 01766 522136 or email jane.carey-evans@contact-the-elderly.org.uk