insideKENT Magazine Issue 22 - January 2014 | Page 142
CHARITY
FREE TEA PARTIES BRING TOGETHER OVER-75s LIVING ALONE
A chartered legal executive who has spent her
career helping elderly and vulnerable clients is
launching a voluntary group to give older, lonely
people in Herne Bay and Whitstable the chance
to socialise and make friends.
Val Prosser, who lives in Herne Bay, is part of a
growing network of volunteers who give their
time to Contact the Elderly, the only national
charity that focuses solely on tackling loneliness
and isolation among the over-75s.
The charity organises free monthly Sunday
afternoon tea parties for small groups of older
people who live alone. As co-ordinator of the
new Whitstable and Herne Bay group, Val is now
seeking volunteer drivers and tea party
hosts. She is also inviting anyone aged 75 or
over, who lives alone and is interested in coming
along to the tea parties, to get in touch.
Val Prosser
“The tea parties provide vital contact for those
who live alone and provide an opportunity for
them to meet others and build lasting friendships,”
said Val, who works in the Elderly Client Team of
Kent law firm Furley Page.
Volunteer drivers are needed once a month on
a Sunday afternoon. “They will collect the same
elderly person each month to allow a close bond
to develop,” said Val. Volunteer hosts
across Herne Bay and Whitstable are required
to provide tea and cakes in their home one or
two Sunday afternoons a year.
“By volunteering, people can really help make a
difference to lonely elderly people and bring
them companionship through regular social
contact.
“It can also be very rewarding for the volunteers.
Over the months and years acquaintances turn
into friends and loneliness is replaced by
companionship,” added Val.
For more information about Contact the Elderly,
visit www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk. To volunteer
for the Herne Bay and Whitstable group, or to
take part in the tea parties, email Val Prosser
at [email protected] or call her on
01227 763939.
As part of Furley Page’s Elderly Client Team, Val
specialises in helping people who are becoming
confused and are struggling to look after their
affairs, or who may be living with dementia.
For details of Furley Page’s Elderly Client services
visit www.furleypage.co.uk.
ASHFORD
ACCOUNTANCY FIRM
WILKINS KENNEDY
RAISES £3,300 FOR
ABBIE’S ARMY
Wilkins Kennedy LLP, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers in
Ashford, has raised £3,300 for Abbie’s Army, a children’s charity that
supports research into DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), a rare,
incurable and inoperable brain tumour.
Abbie’s mother, Mandy Walker, says: “We are overwhelmed with the amount
raised. Every penny will go directly to much needed DIPG research, that
will hopefully one day lead to a real breakthrough for this deadly disease.”
Abbie’s Army is a charity dedicated to the memory of Ashford schoolgirl
Abbie Mifsud, who was diagnosed with DIPG and passed away in 2011,
aged six.
Abbie underwent her treatment at The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton,
Surrey, and money previously raised by the charity has been donated to
the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre at the University of Nottingham.
It also supported the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity through their Marsden
March event.
All of the staff at Wilkins Kennedy in Ashford have been involved in organising
and hosting a number of different fundraising activities including charity
quizzes, raffles, bake sales, contests and sweepstakes.
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Paul Webb, Senior Manager at Wilkins Kennedy in Ashford, said: ”When
we heard the devastating news about Abbie it hit everyone at Wilkins
Kennedy hard, so we wanted to do something to help. We chose Abbie’s
Army as our charity of the year as a result, and we are delighted with the
amazing total of £3,300 that has been raised. We know Ray and Mandy
will put this to good use and hopefully our contribution will assist with the
research into DIPG that is needed.”
To show your support for Abbie’s Army, please text ARMY60 to 70070.
www.abbiesarmy.co.uk
www.wilkinskennedy.com