Legacy
Many of the older people our volunteers spend time with are wonderful, creative, sparky types - full of ideas and enthusiasm. Others are a little less confident and on the edge of isolation: they need plenty of encouragement to get out of the house and spend time with others.
We know that many older people - and particularly older men - can find it difficult to forge new relationships and to learn new skills that will benefit them in their everyday lives. That's why our amazing young volunteers have been giving time over the past 6 weeks to share recipes, demonstrate their culinary skills and enjoy a meal with a group of older gents at Abbey Community Centre in Kilburn.
This month is Black History Month, a month-long celebration of black cultural heritage, history and experiences today. We were honoured to be approached by Every Voice to host some film screenings as part of their Black History Month film festival in Islington.
Lil is one of the much loved older neighbours who comes to North London Cares film nights - every single week. She is very open in admitting that she comes because she feels lonely at home - and she wants to get out of the house and spend time with people, especially young people.
In 25 months, 563 of you have signed up to volunteer to help make North London Cares' vision a reality. You've supported over 500 older neighbours. You've created 16, 560 interactions that wouldn't otherwise have occured. And you've added 6,346 hours of time to our communities. Thank you.
Over the next couple of weeks, we have some very special one-off weekend events coming up: a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, a photography walk and an LGBT's women's activities day.
Now that summer is well and truly over, our thoughts have turned to our winter projects and what we can all do in the coming months to lend a helping hand to our older neighbours. Here's what's coming up...
There's no better way to bring people together than breaking bread and sitting down for a good feed. That's why over the past few months North London Cares volunteers have brought their amazing culinary skills to bear in various Cooking Sessions with their older neigbours in King's Cross, Camden Town and Kilburn.
What a summer it’s been! Throughout our six-week-long summer sessions our volunteers and their neighbours have been cooking together, making a film, taking and editing wonderful photographs, getting to grips with technology, debating and getting to know one another in the summer socials…
NLC's committed summer intern Tahnee has been helping us deliver our core projects over the last week. Read her blog about her experience at our mobile phone learning workshop, and what she feels people gain from it.