Harborough charity handed £300,000 to help tackle loneliness among older people

A Market Harborough charity is being handed £300,000 to continue funding a highly-successful scheme to tackle loneliness among older people until 2025.

VASL (Voluntary Action South Leicestershire) said it’s “delighted” to have been given the money to run its innovative Community Champions Project for at least another three years.

The charity is being awarded the cash by the National Lottery’s Community Fund (NLCF).

The NLCF has already bankrolled the flourishing blueprint for five years.

And the project has become even more critical as older people especially have become more cut off and lonelier during the two-year coronavirus pandemic.

VASL has about 75 volunteers supporting over 100 people across Harborough district through home visits, phone calls and regular days out.

This afternoon Rohini Corfield, the charity’s Community Champions Manager, said: “The pandemic has widened and deepened loneliness for all age groups.

“We have clients waiting for volunteers who can provide regular social contact in different ways – home visits, telephone calls, emails, meeting in the community and letters.

“Clients are also eager to get out and socialise in groups,” added Rohini.

“The Community Champions project provides regular social outings to local cafes, golf clubs and pubs.

“We use Harborough Community Buses to provide accessible transport so that people with mobility impairments can be included.”

The initiative also offers digital support to clients at home as well as at monthly sessions at the public libraries in both Market Harborough and Lutterworth.

“It facilitates inter-generational links enabling students from local schools to have regular dialogue with older people,” said the charity.

One thrilled client said: “This project has really changed my life.

“I have met so many local people, learnt about digital connection, been to fun learning sessions, written to a pen pal/students and been to all sorts of great cafes.

“It is amazing!”

VASL’s charity manager Maureen O’Malley said: “We are delighted that this funding means we can carry on enabling older people to connect with others physically and online.

“It is a vote of real confidence in VASL as an effective local charity improving lives through volunteering.”

You can find out a lot more about VASL and the invaluable work that they do throughout Harborough by visiting their website here: https://vasl.org.uk/services/community-champions/