Golden Oldies seeks champions to help enhance the lives Windrush generation seniors from the BME communities through developing our programmes to help promote social inclusion, health and happiness.
Golden Oldies is a Southwark based organisation which aims to celebrate and enhance the lives of senior members of the BME communities - in light of the contributions they have previously made to help develop the economic strength and vibrancy of present day British society.
Golden Oldies project has over the past 24 years provided customised support to older people to help improve and promote their social inclusion, as well as their physical and mental health and wellbeing. In the past our programmes have helped our members tackle a range of day to day challenges such as making medical and other appointments, increase their involvement in social activities, through for example, making group visits to art galleries and the countryside, enhanced social inclusion by having weekly lunches and social events. This has enabled our members to be better able to maintain healthy lifestyles, live independently, and have access to a range of desired services, enabling choice and dignity in old age.
However, as public funding has become restrained we have lost full time staff and have had to reduce our programme to holing only a weekly friendship and lunch club for members.
Having reconsidered our position, we are now on the lookout for interested volunteers, or activities champions, to help us to implement our Golden Oldies action plan, through provision of help, advice and support on a range of tasks as set out below.
This will enable us to maintain the health and happiness of our members in as wide a variety of ways as possible.
Are you able to spare a few hours per month to help?
What’s involved?
Supporting us on Thursdays to deliver tasks including:
The specific skills we would welcome from volunteers would include:
Specific abilities will include:
Furthermore, we would be very pleased to welcome volunteers with experience of financial or business background, or with experience of working to help resolve financial challenges in small scale organisations.
Further experience of fundraising, given our limited finances and the impact of recent changes in available public sector would be an advantage as would knowledge of the small scale social enterprise sector.
However, we are, above all, seeking involvement and help from others who have a commitment and real interest in enabling senior members of the community to enjoy their later years through involvement and participation on a range of interesting activities and events.
Currently we generate income through charges made to our members and supporters for the delivery of a range of services which are provided at our service base. Primarily this is through delivery of a centre based weekly friendship and lunch club.
We are now keen to extend our activities in support of needs of local BAME seniors and others and to develop a viable business base through delivery of additional services.
We are based in a locality which is multi cultural, and is currently experiencing a great number of demographic and economic change, which pose opportunities and challenges to local people, particularly the elderly.
To help meet this challenge we have a vision and enthusiasm to build on our lunch club by starting up a locality based pop up Caribbean themed food stall. If this gets going our hope is that it successfully caters to the wider needs of the local community in Southwark at various suitable events and beyond.
All proceeds from the café would go towards meeting costs of the Walworth Golden Oldies community care project as we seek to expand our offer to our members and others. Thus providing a highly desired and valuable project within the community which provides day care and support services for older people. To assist us in this exciting task we are looking for those with appropriate business background and drive willing to help us to do so on a volunteer basis. We are keen to work with individuals and would like to seek out and capture that spirit of community enterprise to help the community to grow in as enterprising and positive a manner as possible.
We therefore are seeking volunteer support from a suitably qualified business development specialist who is keen to help deliver socially desired outcomes
