A few weeks ago, on a visit to Nantwich Methodist Church, I was introduced to Margaret and Eric, who run the local Friendship Group. They’re a credit to our area and an inspiration, giving their time and resources to help combat loneliness for people in their later years. 

The group meets once a month and gives members the opportunity to socialise and build a community spirit.  Many of those who attend are otherwise isolated due to health conditions or family having moved away. We know that this can have a significant impact on people’s wellbeing, with loneliness on the rise in the aftermath of Covid-19. 

In fact, Eric and Margaret said that based on their experience, Nantwich has some of the highest rates of people over the age of 65 living alone in Cheshire. Unfortunately, this is often a bigger problem for rural towns where transport links are behind those of cities and people live further away from one another. 

Since they started the group, they’ve run raffles and fundraisers, held bridge tournaments, knitting classes, cake sales and much more. They’ve raised a significant amount of money for charity through these sessions.   

Most importantly, they’re giving our older population a sense of community, a safe space and a group of familiar faces to meet with each month. I visited them on a busy Saturday morning and was struck by how welcoming everyone was. I can only imagine how much that would mean to someone without a family at home. 

The Friendship Group are looking for regular volunteers to help with the physical setup for their meetings. Their sessions require furniture and other equipment to facilitate the different activities, and while the Church has all this, they’re looking for a spare pair of hands to get it ready each month.   

If you’re available to support the Friendship Group and would like to be involved, please send them an email at eric.leslie49@talktalk.net.