Re-engage charity is asking people to volunteer to help with weekly tea parties to help stop Covid isolation among the elderly

It is rebuilding its network of free Sunday tea parties throughout the country, but needs willing volunteers to help get it back up and running, and oversee the gatherings.

Meryl Davies, CEO of Re-engage, said: ‘Before the pandemic our monthly tea parties provided a vital lifeline for older people who barely saw another person from one week to the next.’

The charity currently has approximately 70 volunteers that help during the gatherings and also transport the older people to and from the tea parties.

Mary, who is partially blind and was recently widowed after being married for 60 years, said: ‘I have no friends and I haven’t got a big family. I can’t go out much, so I really look forward to the Sunday outings. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy them. I don’t know what I would do without the tea parties. If I don’t have them, I have nothing.’

There is a shortage of co-ordinators in areas such as Havant, Portsmouth and Poole and they are in desperate need for volunteers.

Meryl said: ‘Our tea parties are the perfect remedy for those feeling isolated, probably even more so since the pandemic gripped the country, and we want to provide a service that will bring some happiness to their lives. Without co-ordinators we can’t do that.’

If you would like to become a coordinator for Re-engage, please contact the charity at: Become a tea party group coordinator (reengage.org.uk) Or call: 0207 240 0630