Can you spare a few hours a month to drive one or two older people to a local tea party? If so, Contact the Elderly  – which tackles loneliness and isolation among older people – wants to hear from you.

The charity organises free monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties which give older people in Abergele a regular and vital friendship link.

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.  However, a spokesperson for the charity says the popular group in Abergele is currently at risk of closure due to a lack of volunteers who are able to drive and accompany older guests in the group to and from the gatherings each month.

Contact the Elderly’s Wales Volunteer Support Officer, Sian Llewellyn, said: “The charity is committed to offering a lifeline of friendship to the oldest and loneliest people, but this lifeline is currently under threat in Abergele, due to a real shortage of volunteer drivers in the area.  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!  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.”

Abergele residents interested in volunteering for Contact the Elderly as a driver once a month can contact Sian Llewellyn, Wales Volunteer Support Officer, on 01597 822351 or email sian.llewellyn (at) contact-the-elderly.org.uk

Source: email from Barbara Corbett, a volunteer with Contact the Elderly.