Christmas is meant to be a time of joy but can also be one of the loneliest times of year for someone who is house-bound, or has very few friends, family or visitors.
Volunteer Centre Sutton is launching The Thoughtfulness Fund. This fund will enable us to buy gifts for some of the most isolated and lonely people we support through our Sutton Befrienders project, which aims to reduce social isolation and loneliness by carefully matching people with a volunteer Befriender to provide weekly contact. With the help of our knowledgable Befriending volunteers we will carefully choose personal and thoughtful gifts on your behalf. As well as Christmas gifts, this fund will also enable us to make people feel special throughout the year by remembering their birthdays, which may otherwise go unmarked.
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Here are just some examples of the people we support, and the gifts that their Befrienders have suggested:
Robert, 76, is a retired painter and decorator, and is now bed-ridden following a recent fall and has no family or friends to support him. Robert’s Befriender says that Robert has a lifelong passion for the sea and would love a new book on maritime history.
Eileen, 82, lives alone in sheltered accommodation and has limited mobility. Eileen’s Befriender will be visiting her on Christmas Day. Her Befriender says Eileen loves bright colours so we’d love to treat her to a new cosy, brightly coloured cardigan.
Gill and Jenny from our Sutton Befrienders team pitched The Thoughtfulness Fund at Sutton Soup earlier this year. Although our pitch didn't win, we were extremely fortunate to have already received an incredibly generous donation to get the fund up and running, from Aratrika, one of our youngest Young Commissioners. Aratrika has also inspired her fellow Young Commissioners to support the initiative, so our Young Commissioners will be helping to wrap and deliver presents in the run-up to Christmas.
