Northumberland Community Enterprise
This organisation is based in Stobhill, just outside Morpeth in the North East. It runs various services and activities aimed at improving the lives of local residents, including employment advice, training and skills development, community projects such as a befriending service, handyman/gardening service, and schemes to benefit children and families.
At the February 2020 meeting, Allen Lane Trustees agreed a £10,000 grant towards an expansion of services specifically for older people. Funding will contribute towards salary costs of the project officer and volunteer coordinator to enable this to happen. It will include an expansion of the befriending service, continuing existing weekly clubs and initiating additional clubs – a gardening club for over 60’s, a silver suffers IT club, a drop-in cuppa club and a Memory Lane and a reminiscence project. An ‘in-school’ awareness project called ‘Remember Me’ will involve older people engaging with schoolchildren to promote understanding between the ages. Around 400 older people are expected to benefit. The project will improve the quality of life of isolated older people, improve self-esteem, alleviate loneliness and give them an opportunity to feel integrated and valued in the community.
