Day centre can be a lifeline for older people

A volunteer-run day centre in Telford, offering fun and games and companionship, is proving to be a lifeline for some older people in the area.

‘Coming here is the highlight of my week,’ says 78-year-old Julia, one of the regulars at Woodside Day Centre, organised and run by Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin volunteers.

‘I’ve made new friends. I really look forward to coming here every week. We often have entertainment here such as professional musicians. We sometimes have something called saxophone bingo where a saxophonist plays tunes and we have to guess what they are.’

The day centre is one of a network run by Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin, with others in other parts of Telford, as well as in Shawbirch, Newport, Alveley, Oswestry, Market Drayton, Ellesmere, Whitchurch and Shrewsbury.

‘I love it here too,’ says 76-year-old Sylvia who, along with the other members, is enjoying toast and coffee. Sylvia who lives in Madeley and Julia who lives in Woodside have become good friends through attending the centre every Wednesday.

‘I think the people here are very pleasant and there’s always a nice variety of things to do. Today we’re going to be doing flower arranging, but I don’t think the men will be very interested in that. They’re happy to carry on playing dominoes. We sometimes go on outings. We have picnics. Recently we had a trip to the tile factory which was very interesting.’

‘I’ve been coming here for about three months now, and, to tell you the truth, it’s a bit of a lifeline. You get to meet new people and do different things. You don’t want to be stuck in the house all the time, do you?’

In another corner of the room there is 88-year-old Gerald who once had a career as a manager of an aluminium factory, 67-year-old David who had lots of jobs including making safes, and Richard, 77, who started out as a chef and later became a hospital cook.

Gerald and David got to the centre by bus. Richard came on his mobility scooter. The three of them, along with the other men around this table, love their dominoes. ‘We’ve been mates here since the club first opened,’ said Richard. ‘It’s the comradeship that we love. They’re all good company.’

Leading the volunteers here is 70-year-old mother-of-two Marilyn Davies. ‘I think I first became involved in volunteering around 15, maybe even 20 years ago,’ she says. ‘You have to have a real connection with the people to make it work. And I do enjoy that.’

‘When I first became involved, I was still teaching at Woodlands Junior School. My mother had died a few years before and she had not had a particularly good experience at nursing homes, and so, having witnessed that could have had something to do with my wishing to volunteer to see if I could help others.’

Marilyn had gone to a volunteering agency, and they had suggested getting in touch with Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin. ‘So, I did and gradually I took on more responsibility. I am now one of six of us running the Woodside Day Centre. We’re all very dedicated. I have to say, I really enjoy all aspects of volunteering, especially the planning side of it.’

For more information about Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin’s day centres or to find out more about our volunteering opportunities, call us on 01743 233 123 or email enquiries@ageukstw.org.uk