Older People’s Day – celebrating the work of Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council’s Community Meals project
To mark Older People’s Day (Sunday 1 October 2017), we are continuing to raise the profile of our active senior residents in Shropshire’s communities.
Older People’s Day is part of the annual United Nations ‘International Day of Older Persons’ and is dedicated to commemorating the achievements of elderly people in our communities.
This year’s theme is “Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society” and today’s story is from Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council, who manage the Community Meals project covering Gobowen and Whittington. This project is administered by the parish council, but is primarily run by a team of volunteers, a number of whom are retired.
Volunteers deliver meals weekly to elderly residents in the parish. The project is managed on a weekly basis by a lead volunteer, who gives up a huge amount of her time to ensure the project runs smoothly and efficiently.
A hot meal
John Davies is a volunteer and has been involved with the parish council led project since the beginning. He explains how the project came about and how it has been turned into the valuable community service that it is today:
“About five years ago, we were saddened to hear that Shropshire Council had decided that the meals service was no longer affordable, and that it was to be discontinued. Instead of delivering a hot meal four times a week, there would be a supply a batch of frozen meals once a fortnight. This, we felt, was not a good substitute, as it would remove the essential personal contact day by day, and would be quite inappropriate for some of the people who most needed the service.
“We still had our indomitable organiser, Kath Griffiths, of the kitchen of the Orthopaedic Hospital, happy to continue to supply hot meals throughout the year, and the enthusiasm of our team of volunteer distributors, many of us elderly but still active.
“As a local citizen, I brought the situation to the attention of the Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council and they recognised the need. With visionary leadership from the Chair, and with an enterprising Parish Clerk, the council devised a completely new commitment to the service of our citizens.
“So, as the old meals service was decommissioned, it was replaced, with a seamless transition, by a new Community Meals service, which has operated for three years as a self-financing programme making no claim on public funds. Uniquely, our parish council now operates this service, using the energies of the fairly elderly in support of the slightly more elderly. The message here is that ordinary citizens can make a difference by claiming the attention of the parish council, when they see something that needs doing.”
Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health, adult social care and housing, said:
“We want to celebrate the contribution older people make in society and within the Shropshire community in particular.
“Many of our older people are already active volunteers like those at Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council who manage the Community Meals project. We hope that raising the profile of older people’s talents throughout this week, will encourage participation from those who may not be involved in anything, and inspire them to join others.”
Advice and information to help you remain independent for longer
Supporting older people and looking after their needs is key to ensuring their well-being and integration into our communities.
For those seniors or their families with access to a computer, there’s a host of information and advice on our Shropshire Choices website to help you remain independent for longer. Visit www.shropshirechoices.org.uk.
