Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 111 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
I've met some wonderful people - older and young - since moving to London.
My best friend, who has been unwell, falls within an older age bracket. She's very lucky to be surrounded by her wonderful family and friends, but not everyone is. That’s why South London Cares is so important.
Through volunteering and spending time with older neighbours, I realised how lonely some can be. Yet there’s so much they want to do and share with the world, which can be very difficult in this fast paced, ever changing city. I’ve only lived in London for a few years but have still found the changes taking place overwhelming at times. I can’t even imagine how older neighbours must feel considering most of them have spent their whole lives here – often in the same area or on the same street.
As I’m a working student and cannot commit to as many social clubs as I’d like to, last year I decided to walk 50km and raise money for more Social Clubs where the wonderfully fulfilling interactions between young professionals and older neighbours take place. When I learnt how far £40 could go (it covers a cooking session for 10 isolated people), I decided to take on the challenge.
I had no idea whether I’d make it. After all, this was my first ever challenge of the sort and I am not sporty in the slightest - I avoid the gym like the plague! But with the encouragement of my friends and some inspiring older neighbours like Daphne, Francis and Grace, the walk suddenly became this wonderful thing we were all doing together. They were chuffed to see that more than 50 youngsters committed to walk 9+ hours to raise money and enable everyone to have more fun.
One of my favourite moments at South London Cares so far was meeting Grace at a Tech Workshop in Brixton. Once she’d learnt how to surf the internet for recipes for cookies to make for her grandchildren, send her first ever email and visit her home village in Lagos using Google Maps, she was on top of the world. She then asked me to show her something of mine. I opened my 50km fundraising page and showed her how many people supported the cause – she was so touched and grateful that it made all the training worth it and inspired me to do more in 2016.
So here I am, newly signed up to walk 100 kilometres in July as part of South London Cares' London 2 Cambridge Challenge!
I can’t believe I’m doing it – I’ll be walking for some 24 hours non-stop! I could’ve done 50km again this year, but where would the fun be in going up to Grace and saying “Guess what my friend, I’m walking 50km again this year!” I think she’ll be more impressed when I say I’m walking double the distance. (What I’m really hoping is that she’ll be so impressed she’ll bake me some of those cookies we googled recipes for!)
Since joining the Cares family in 2015, their number of volunteers and older neighbours has grown and they need extra resources to accommodate everyone. The staff at South London Cares – and North London Cares – are so hardworking and committed to tackling isolation and combating loneliness, whilst making you, the volunteer, feel so appreciated and proud to be part of it all. This gives you that extra push and motivation you need when you sign up for a challenge so big.
I was so pleased with how the 50km walk went last year and very touched to see how many of my friends and colleagues supported the cause. Please join me and other volunteers in making this year's challenge even bigger and better!
If you're feeling brave and want to walk 50km or 100km with Mateja, then find out more about our big walk of 2016 below: