Bosworth Court Care Home - Aspire Magazine

Friendship & Support From
Saffron Support for Elderly People
According to the Charity Commission,
there are now 180,000 registered charities
in England and Wales. Many of these are
small, independent charities who have
been hit hard by the fall in donations due to
the current economic climate. One charity
that’s desperate for donations in order to
continue its vital work is Saffron Support
for Elderly People.
Founded in 1989 by the Southfields Drive
Community Association, a group of likeminded
people who wanted to provided
somewhere for elderly people within the
community to meet and socialise, Saffron
Support for Elderly People provides a range
of services for elderly people within the south
Leicester area.
Lunch & Social Clubs
They run a lunch club five days a week and on
Tuesday evenings and Wednesday afternoons,
Saffron Support for Elderly People welcomes
the over 50s to their social club, allowing likeminded
elderly people to meet and socialise.
Project Co-ordinator, Audrey Mather, said: “We
have about 30 members at our social club
at the moment but we always welcome new
faces. Our eldest service user is 96-years-old
and our youngest is 57; there’s no restrictions
on age. It seems that the older people get,
the less there is for them, so Saffron Support
for Elderly People strives to offer somewhere
for elderly people to socialise. We play bingo
and welcome guest speakers for talks; we do
a whole range of things to encourage the
elderly residents of Southfields Drive and
the surrounding areas to remain active into
their twilight years. We’re happy to provide
transport, for a small charge, to collect and
drop people off door-to-door so they can
attend our clubs.”
Day Care
On May 21st, Saffron Support for Elderly
People are launching a bespoke day care
service for older people who require a little
extra help. Audrey explained: “We’ve spoken
extensively with current services users to
ensure the care services we provide are
exactly what they need and want, as well
as ensuring the activities and outings are
suitable and interesting. We have provision
for 14 people per day and at the moment will
be offering day care for just five days a week.
We will be charging between £40 and £50 a
day but that includes transport door-to-door,
meals and refreshments.”
Annual Getaway
If that wasn’t enough, each summer, Saffron
Support for Elderly People runs an annual
residential holiday to somewhere in Britain,
giving elderly people a change of scenery
and their families the respite break they crave.
This year, Audrey and five helpers will be
travelling with a coach-load of service users to
Eastbourne on 29th July for one week. Audrey
said: “We’ve been to Eastbourne before but
we enjoyed it so much we’re going again. The
price is £345 for the week but that includes
half board accommodation, door-to-door
transport, entertainment and three or four
daily trips. We have volunteers who come
with us to help push wheelchairs etc. and we
fundraise to enable them to go. It’s a great
way to give the pensioners a break from their
daily routine, as well as giving their loved ones
a break from caring for them.”
Open Day
To celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee,
Saffron Support for Elderly People will be
hosting a street party on Southfields Drive,
as well as a community centre open day from
10am until 4pm on Saturday June 2nd. Audrey
explained: “We thought we’d get into the
spirit of the occasion by holding a good, oldfashioned
street party for all our volunteers,
services users and their families, as well as the
local community. There will be a selection of
party food served around lunchtime and the
community centre will be open for anyone
who wishes to come and have a look round.”
Recognition
To encourage our readers to donate as much
or as little as they can to Saffron Support
for Elderly People, Aspire have chosen the
organisation as our Charity of the Year 2012.
Audrey said: “It’s amazing to be chosen as
Aspire’s Charity of the Year, as we’re a small
charity just trying to continue to offer a high
standard of services to our service users.
All our volunteers and our staff go above
and beyond; they all dedicate so much time
and energy to ensuring things not only run
smoothly, but also to ensuring everyone
enjoys themselves. Without our volunteers,
and our staff, things wouldn’t work as well as
they do.”
Saffron Support for Elderly People have
also been awarded an Aspire Certificate of
Recognition for Care & Support.
Saffron Support for Elderly People are always looking for more donations to ensure their vital
services can continues. To make a donation, or for more information on
Saffron Support for Elderly People,
please call 0116 2440219 or email ssep@ntlbusiness.com