Show grandparents how much you care

Sunday (September 11) was National Grandparents’ Day and I would like to take this opportunity to urge everyone to get in touch with their own and let them know how special they are.

When we ask our volunteers at Contact the Elderly what motivated them to join our charity, that provides free monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties, many tell us that as they no longer have any living grandparents or ones that they can visit regularly, they love the opportunity to spend time with people of a similar age.

Our volunteers say it reminds them of days gone by and how special grandparents are. They also come away from our tea parties feeling as though they have inherited a whole new set.

Our free monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties rely on our volunteers and the impact the small amount of time they donate makes an immeasurable difference.

Our guests as we call them, are always so grateful for the chance to get out and meet people like them, as well as from all walks of life.

Contact the Elderly recently celebrated the launch of our 100th tea party group in Scotland, a major milestone. We now have a network of more than 1100 kind-hearted people throughout the country giving more than 1,000 older people in their local communities the vital lifeline of friendship.

Demand for our services is growing and we continue to appeal for more volunteers to join our ranks and help end isolation among our older communities. We also know there are many more older people who would benefit from our tea parties who we have not been able to reach and would appeal to anyone who might know someone to get in touch with us to find out about our parties.