New year, new connections

Please note: this post is 137 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

Have you made a new year's resolution to do something new in 2015? Does it involve volunteering, and finding a way to feel more connected to your community? If you'd like to find an easy way to get to know and help out your older neighbours, read on...

Our Love Your Neighbour project links up our young volunteers living or working in Lambeth or Southwark with an older neighbour living nearby. It's essentially afriendship match which rewards both people with a new connection in their community.

Some of our older neighbours don't have as many connections or as much regular company as they'd like. Other people would like a little help to achieve small practical tasks inside and outside their homes, such as doing the shopping or maintaining their garden.

Some of our volunteers who signed up to get involved in 2014 have been visiting their older neighbours on a regular basis for a few months now, and are enjoying the rewards of making a new connection. Not all of us are able to get out and about easily, and our volunteers' companionship is providing new social opportunities and interaction.

London can be an isolating place for people of all ages. Our neighbourhoods in south London are home to a rich diversity seen in only a handful of cities around the world, whilst also being an area of huge historical import going through rapid transformation and change. We want to celebrate all of this by bringing people together across social and generational divides.

Recently we've met Fred who's lived all 92 years of his life in Walworth. Having been at Dunkirk at 17, then in North Africa and Italy, his stories are vivid and captivating. We've met Margaret from Peckham whose teaching career has given her a love of languages and learning.

We've got to know Mohammed, who moved from Kenya to Kennington to pursue an academic role and knows London like he's done the Knowledge. Then there's Christine from East Dulwich who made weapons in an artillery factory in the 40s...

We're looking for young professionals to spend time, share company and offer a little practical help to our older neighbours, like Fred, Margaret, Mohammed and Christine.

If you have a few spare hours each month, and live or work in Elephant and Castle, Peckham, Brixton, Stockwell, Dulwich, Bermondsey, Kennington, Camberwell, Clapham or anywhere else in Southwark or Lambeth - we'd love to hear from you!

You can help us make a difference to someone's day, week or month and help prevent isolation of our older neighbours.