We will all get older; we all know older people; parents , grandparents, neighbours

Imagine living in four walls with very limited social contact, isolated, lonely, depressed, anxious, fearful of the outside world yet with a life time of memories, stories, knowledge and experiences. Plymouth Befriending Communities Consortium is a not for profit community and voluntary group that for 15 years have provided support, befriending ,help, social contact and acceptance for the most vulnerable older people in Plymouth. Our small friendly weekly groups provide opportunities to socialise , eat well, make new friends, laugh and have fun. Appropriate transport is provided to enable those with all disabilities to attend our groups and our regular trips to a variety of local venues. We also provide 1;1 befriending, help to access appointments and try to provide for all the needs and desires of our users. We have retained a welcoming warm environment within an organisation that has maintained a consistent workforce of staff and volunteers engendering a family like approach that builds trust with severally isolated people improving self confidence and self esteem so that they are able to mix socially giving themselves an improved quality of life.

Sybil attends three of our groups a week; she lives alone, since attending our groups she feels much better in herself, less contact with GP, she ' has a reason to get up, dress smartly, have her nails done ' . She has made new friends and with the outings she goes on has things to talk about. Equally we gain much enjoyment from Sybil's stories of her interesting life. Without our services Sybil would live a lonely existence trapped within her home

We are in need for funds to see ourselves as an organisation through our own vulnerable period. The requested sum will enable us to survive this difficult period whist we wait for future opportunities to continue our work. Please help us continue this lifeline for people that deserve a good quality of life towards the end of their lives; we may all need such support at some point.

PLYMOUTH COMMUNITIES BEFRIENDING CONSORTIUM COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY NO; 5924694 Registered at Companies House.