“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” —Mahatma Gandhi

Since I was a child, I have always dreamt of contributing in any way to improving the lives of the elderly. Seeing any elderly person lonely or socially isolated makes me feel emotional.

The past December, I received a blank Christmas card as a gift from a charity that I am supporting, ‘Friends of the Elderly’ (FOTE). I was encouraged to write this card and send it to any elderly person that I knew. I ended up writing a card to an elderly neighbour in my flat building. Two days later, I received her reply card expressing how excited she felt to read my card and that I am more than welcome to come round for a cuppa at any time! I felt very touched and excited.

The power of human connection and time are the best gifts that you could give to anyone.

On Saturday 23rd February 2019, my friends and I are hosting a charity terrarium workshop for the FOTE residents at their care home in Woking.

Just as in a terrarium, all life sustains all other life. When we give, we contribute not only to others, but also to ourselves - and in a very small way, to all life.

The workshop is self-funded by me and my friends. Volunteer spaces are all booked up (these were very limited). However, you can still experience the power of giving to this fantastic charity, Friends of the Elderly.

Worryingly, 360,000 older people (aged over 65) have not had a conversation with friends or family for over a week*.

Your gift means that Friends of the Elderly can offer a lifeline of support to older people through their befriending and community engagement services making a real, tangible difference to older people who feel lonely or isolated.

Your donation can help in so many ways, for example:

- A donation of £15 could help to pay for an older person to attend an event in their community to meet new friends.

- A donation of £30 would be a valued contribution to training a new befriending volunteer.

- A donation of £50 could help to pay for an outing for a group of people who don’t leave the house very often.

Every little helps guys!
Kaew Suppamas (Kay)


*Age UK Research