The organisers of a new exclusive social club for over 60s in Eccles are hoping to spread the word after no-one attended their inaugural event.
The club located in Transcend studios offers the perfect opportunity for over 60’s to socialise and enjoy company with like-minded people, whilst also enjoying a fresh slice of cake with a tea or coffee.
The first event was held on Monday 17 March, however the only people present were the two hardworking volunteers, Ferdy Habib and Claire Jane. Both were left disappointed as they were excited to give back to the community.
Ferdy said: “Even if there was four or five, I think it would be nice, because they would have their conversations and they would all get on. It is a little bit worrying to think about, what would we need to do? We’ve advertised as much as we can on Facebook, but there must be some other way we need to look into to bring people in.”
The two volunteers came up with the idea of the event whilst working in a coffee shop. They realised that a lot of people of the age 60 and over were visiting the cafe. But it was not just a coffee and cake they were looking for, it was also a chance for them to offload any worries or stress with Claire and Ferdy.
Claire said: “There was one guy who came in who had just came out of hospital and he had had a heart attack. He had been sent here because he heard that there was fitness classes. So he turned up here looking for fitness classes. But it wasn’t what he was really after.”
The two came to the conclusion that there is an issue with loneliness and they decided to create the event, in an attempt to persuade others to leave the house for an hour a day to socialise with others.
Claire and Ferdy have been praised by customers of how friendly they are. The act of brightening up people’s day helped them make the decision to create the event. Despite the unsuccessful start, there are hopes for the future.
Ferdy continued: “We’re just here to listen to them, and I think that is still quite valuable because we are not here to judge. We’re just here to make them feel welcome in the community”.
It is not just the elderly which is benefitting from the event, it is helping the volunteers. Claire said: “It’s good for my mental health”.
Ferdy added: “It’s nice to see someone smile, because at the end of the day it is not costing us anything. If we’re giving someone that opportunity to chat, it’s quite priceless.”
Ferdy has seen the difference even half an hour of a conversation can make. She said: “Even having that half an hour away from whatever is going on in their life, you can see they’re totally different when they leave that place.”
Ferdy and Claire are making a great difference in supporting people who may be feeling lonely. They are encouraging people to come to their next ’60’s and over’ event on April 14 .
They both said: “Come and have a chit chat with Ferdy and Claire.”
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