Story
I used to spend Christmas Day on my own eating cheese on toast, but now I look forward to Christmas again - Jacquie from Streatham who has spent the last 3 Christmass at Age UK Lambeth
The festive season can heighten feelings of isolation and loneliness so Age UK Lambeth open on Christmas day and serve dinner to 40 people who would otherwise be on their own and deliver another 40 to those who cant come out. We also organise a Christmas party for 120 of our MYsocial members to celebrate together and run a programme of events throughout Twixmas as this can be a very quiet and isolating time for those without friends and family nearby.
Your support could help us to not only pay for the Christmas Day dinner but also some MYsocial events which help people discover friendships, connect with the community and do things that make them happy. The events that we organise challenge perceptions of ageing by pushing a diverse programme that doesnt pander to stereotypes of older peoples interests.
Over 56% of people aged over 65 in Lambeth live alone and over 2,500 class themselves as lonely. Social isolation and loneliness are terrible at any time of year but these feelings can be made worse at Christmas when all around us we are being told we should spend time with our families. If you don't have family nearby you can feel excluded from the festive season. Your support could change this for an older person living in Lambeth.
£5 could pay for a new member pack allowing people to access a calendar of events to discover friendships, connect with the community and do things that make them happy
£10 could pay for a volunteer to host an event over Twixmas meaning that everyone who turns up knows someone when they arrive. We find this really encourages isolated people to start attending events.
£14 could pay for a Christmas Dinner for a lonely older person
£50 could pay for a fun dance class for members enabling them to socialise and keep their brains and bodies fit and healthy
£100 could pay for a DJ at our Christmas party for 120 older people.
We are very grateful for every donation that helps us to make Christmas a bit better this year for older people in Lambeth.
THANK YOU so much to all our offline donors
Holy Trinity Church in Clapham raised an amazing £1,000 for the campaign - thank you very much
Thank you so much to SW9 Community Housing who raised a brilliant £76