Showing how you care

Please note: this post is 117 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

Last week our volunteer network responded to help an older neighbour going through a difficult time. It was a reminder how much people care - and how supportive our community networks can be when we reach out!

We heard a little bit of bad news from one of our older neighbours. Christine, 84, who's attended several of SLC's Social Clubs, lost all her bedroom belongings in a fire. Thankfully she wasn't at all hurt, but it's a sudden, horrible and upsetting thing to be faced with.

We wanted to show Christine that there are people out there who care about how she is and who want to help her practically to replace the things she lost. Within a couple of hours of reaching out to our volunteer network by email, they - you - had offered to give her all the items she needs. Not only was this really helpful practically, it told us a lot about how much people care:

"Thank goodness Christine wasn't hurt! ... I'm sure I can help out with some things for her."

"Let me know how I can help...I'm glad she's ok."

It is impossible to quantify the value of these thoughts and efforts, but it can be seen in different ways all the time. We see how people care when our volunteers host a film night, chat to neighbours at a dinner party or visit their older neighbour one-to-one. Spending some spare time each month with older neighbours makes a difference and brings new experiences for all of us.

Thank you to you, our volunteers, for all your help supporting our older neighbours - and in this case, Christine!