Vols Week appeal

Breast Cancer Care

Figures reveal volunteers’ selfless work is worth £2.6bn – an incredible sum. What is even more incredible is hearing the first-hand accounts of those who benefit from the commitment being made by thousands of people to improve the lives of others and their communities.

I would personally like to thank the 1300-strong volunteer network making our 120 Contact the Elderly tea parties possible. Without their efforts, 900 older people in Scotland would be at risk of social isolation. These include tea parties taking place in your local area.

With increasingly busy lives, it is all too easy to feel you have to ignore your social conscience. That is not the case. Our volunteers give a little amount of time, just a few hours once a month or even once a year, but make an immeasurable difference simply by enjoying a cup of tea, a slice of cake and a nice conversation with people living in their community.

We know there are so many more people we could be supporting. To do this, we need help to identify older people who are living alone and would benefit from our Sunday afternoon tea parties. We also need people to drive them to the parties and hosts to open their homes.

I hope this Volunteers’ Week, we can encourage more people to help us provide the healing benefits of baking and a blether to more older people living alone in your community. Morna O’May, Head of Scotland Contact the Elderly.