189 - A donation to Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care to expand befriending service - Dec 2024

 We are pleased to be able to share one last donation we made this year, bringing our total of donations to 189.


Earlier in December one of our members nominated the charity Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care (SCCCC) asking if we would make a donation to help their important work supporting older isolated people in Sheffield.


In December they were taking part in The Big Give matched funding campaign, aiming to be able to provide one to one befriending and support to even more older people, by recruiting more volunteers to help meet the increasing demand.


They are currently supporting over 200 older people through befriending but have a waiting list of over 300 people waiting to be matched. They are keeping in touch with them with regular phone support and also sending them post via a penpal scheme whilst they recruit and train more volunteers to help meet the demand.


We donated £250, which was matched within the Big Give campaign so £500 was contributed towards their eventual funding pot of £6530, which we hope will make a big difference to their capacity to support more older people.


As this feedback from their service users testify, the work they do does make a big difference in combatting loneliness, and we are pleased to have been able to help.


“It came at the right time for me and I look forward to our weekly chats.”


“I love getting the pen pal letters… It would be very bare if there was nobody.”


“I’ve never spent so much time on my own, as I can’t go out in case I fall and friends have moved or gone on to other things.”


“Had it not been for the regular calls I would have felt more isolated than I am.”


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