Albert and Anya

Please note: this post is 126 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

This week our volunteers have hit an impressive 1,000 hours of time as part of the South London Cares family. That's 1,000 hours of laughter, friendship and connections made with our older neighbours in Southwark and Lambeth.

Day in, day out, we hear about how our volunteers are bringing something new to their communities in south London. Last week, we heard from Albert, who told us about his visits from Anya as part of our Love Your Neighbour scheme. We were so inspired by this story, we had to share it with you.

Albert, 80, has lived in and around Elephant & Castle all his life. Growing anxious about getting out and feelings of isolation led Albert to South London Cares. Cue a new friendship with Anya. Albert lives 15 minutes away from Anya's office and she visits him every week on her lunch break. She enjoys his stories and finds it relaxing to visit him. They both look forward to each other's company and conversation.

Since Anya started visiting Albert 6 weeks ago she's helped him use technology to connect to people and places he hasn't seen for himself in years. He told us what this means to him:

“Anya has shown me how to use my new tablet. I’ve looked up where I used to go in Elephant & Castle, and where I was evacuated to in Devon. It makes me feel marvellous. I’m in touch with people I haven’t seen in 70 years. I’m picking it up as I go along. Because of these connections we’re organising a big meet up in my family.”

Anya told us that she's benefiting from the visits too. "He's taught me a lot about his history, how times are different now and what he's faced over the years. It's surpassed volunteering - we're building a friendship. It's shown me that the smallest things that we do can have such a big impact on someone's outlook. We take technology for granted."

Thanks to Anya, Albert now holds the key to a new world. This is just one magic story from the 1,000 hours invested to make South London Cares a reality. Thank you for your love, care and compassion.

Here's to the next 1,000!