Seafriends
Bringing people together Ever felt like you have no one to chat to about your day, reminisce or share stories with? You’re not alone, nine million adults a day report feeling lonely or socially isolated, and not just our older generation. SeaFriends was formed by members of local groups with a shared interest in creating an environment in Seaford where no one feels lonely, to support people to make friends and re-engage with our community. SeaFriends were ready to launch just as COVID-19 forced clubs and activities in Seaford to close. So we changed tack, partnering with Seaford Volunteer Emergency Team (SVET), and we now offer a telephone befriending service. Listening Ear reaches out to those who are alone, for regular friendly chats. In addition we’re also making calls to all of SVET’s service users, checking they’re well, have all they need and offering them regular calls from one of our trained volunteers. Feeling lonely and socially isolated is proven to be detrimental to health. Something as simple as having someone to share your stories with can have an amazing effect on your wellbeing; we are, after all, social beings. All this can’t be done without our fantastic volunteers. Seaford has risen to the challenge of COVID-19, bringing the community together through volunteering. Our volunteers are matched with their new friend based on shared interests, and they decide how much or little time to commit. Our volunteers are trained and supported with monthly follow-up calls and virtual
chores and more Cleaning, ironing, errands, admin, etc. Reliable and friendly team, fully insured Locally recommended
07761 084330 Kathy - 07761 084330
vicky@choresandmore.co.uk kathy@choresandmore.co.uk www.choresandmore.co.uk www.choresandmore.co.uk
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coffee mornings where they meet other volunteers and socialise. Coordinators are always available to discuss any concerns or just for a chat. We’re all making new friends and working together to brighten peoples’ lives. Funded by the National Lottery until November, we’re working hard to continue this valuable service long term and have exciting plans for groups and activities to bring the generations together in Seaford. We aim to create safe supported spaces to get together and enjoy each other’s company, and are planning socially distanced coffee mornings once the circumstances allow. One of the hardest things to do is cross the threshold into a new place or group on your own, so we will be there, offering a buddy service where you can go along with someone you’ve already met and they’ll help you settle in. It really has been an amazing experience talking to so many interesting and different people, getting to know them and matching them with new friends. One short phone call can make a world of difference and for some it is the only contact they will have all week. If you’d like to join our volunteer team or receive regular calls contact us, we’d be happy to hear from you. Tel: 01323 914689, email: hello@seafriends.org.uk.
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tuesday 8th September
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