Elderly Friends for Christmas lunch

[desjoseph]

I have decided to host a Christmas event this year and need your support to make it happen!

I have always wanted to do something to help eliminate loneliness in older people and have often considered volunteering. As yet, I haven?t been able to make a regular commitment, but as I currently have some spare time on my hands so I?ve decided to organise and host a Christmas lunch for elderly residents in my local community. Specifically, for those who would otherwise be alone over the Christmas period. The thought of anyone feeling alone is heart-breaking, but especially the elderly and particularly at Christmas. Some rough numbers suggest there could be as many as 500,000 elderly people who spend Christmas Day alone every year in the UK.

The lunch will take place on Christmas Eve and my plan is to invite 30 guests, however, this will very much depend on the amount of funds raised. The venue will be The Rosendale pub in West Dulwich, who have been fabulous and given me a great deal. Each guest will be served a 3-course meal, a glass of fizz, tea/coffee and mince pies. Should we raise enough, I would love to be able to give each guest a small gift.

I will also be arranging transport to and from the pub for those that need it, so if anyone in my local area has a few hours to spare and would like to volunteer to do some driving on the day, please message me at [email protected].

And of course, if you know of any elderly people in the local area who may be in this situation over the Christmas period please let me know.

In the event we raise soooo much money and there are funds left over, I will send the remaining funds to St Christopher?s hospice in Sydenham. They transport their out patients to their centre and provide a Christmas lunch for those who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day.

So, if there?s any way you could show your support, no matter how big or small, it will truly be appreciated by me and I?m sure, some very happy local elderly residents.

Below is a link to the GoFundMe crowdfunding website where you can make a donation. You may need to copy and paste.

https://www.gofundme.com/elderly-friends-for-christmas&rcid=r01-154229456328-138217419d3b447a&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w

Should you wish to verify this is a genuine event, please feel free to contact Ethan, the manager of The Rosendale pub in West Dulwich. Or, I can supply a reference from St Christopher?s hospice, who I?ve done fundraising for for many years.

[beansprout]

Just sent u a mail but has bounced back..

[desjoseph]

Apologies, please send to [email protected]

[desjoseph]

Hi, did you resend the email?

[shell]

This is so wonderful, I hope its a huge success. Have donated and shared.

[beansprout]

Resent and bounced back again - do you want to give me your number?

[desjoseph]

That?s very bizarre. Are you ?Sue? by any chance as I received an email and just replied? But my number is 07725608855 so please feel free to call me. I can?t take a call today unfortunately but I?m free tomorrow from 2pm and will be happy to have a chat then if that works for you.

[shell]

Hi Des just wondering how your plans are going for this? ( and also pushing it up the thread list )

[desjoseph]

Hi Shell,

The response has been amazing, from donors, volunteers and guests wanting to attend. Everything is almost sorted for the Christmas Eve lunch with just a few final details to confirm. Otherwise, I'm hoping we'll have a lot of festive fun. The venue are super excited about the event and are even talking about offering their venue again next year with an area reserved which can accommodate almost double the amount of people!!

I would really like to thank everyone for their support.

[cath_r]

Hope everything goes well tomorrow Des and a wonderful time is had by all. Just thought I'd push this thread back to the top of the list to see if it nudges a few more people to help reach your funding target!

https://www.gofundme.com/elderly-friends-for-christmas