Age UK tea dance a big success

Guests of all ages were dressed in vintage style outfits and the afternoon was spent dancing to music from the era, provided by the Royal British Legion Dance Band.

During the interval, guests were treated to afternoon tea on vintage china provided by the charity’s catering team and served by their team of wonderful volunteers.

The charity’s chief executive officer, Sonia Mangan said: “Our strictly vintage tea dance is fantastic, it’s lovely to see dancers having such fun.

“We have decided to run two dances again this year, and we hope that all our guests will return again on September 14 for another wonderful session of dancing and to support our charity.

“In the meantime we have lots of exciting event[s] and activities planned for the next few months, as this year we’re celebrating our very special diamond, 60, anniversary, and I would encourage our local community to get in touch to find out more about our charity and to see for themselves how the money raised from such events is spent.”

Sonia compered the afternoon and thanked the Horsham Business community including local brewery Dark Star, who sponsored the event, and the Royal British Legion Dance Band for being integral to its success.

The event, organised by the Age UK Fundraising Team and local volunteers, with many other Age UK Horsham District staff providing support, was a big success and raised just under £2,000 for the charity’s work with and for older people in the community.

Other supporters include a host of local companies and individuals who supplied cakes for the day, items to the raffle and helped to promote the event.

Funds raised at the event go towards the free services Age UK Horsham District offer to support local older people, such as their visiting and information and advice services.

Loneliness is one of the key issues the charity tackles.

Over one million older people in the UK say they always or often feel lonely and loneliness is fast becoming a serious public health concern, with research suggesting it can be as bad for one’s health as smoking or being morbidly obese.

With a rapidly ageing population, this means more pressure on already stretched NHS and social care services.

Age UK Horsham District is committed to reducing and preventing loneliness among older people locally and their visiting service is just one of the ways they do this. The service matches a volunteer to a lonely older person, who then makes regular visits to offer friendship, social interaction and support.

If you would like to find out more, make a donation or help the charity in any way, please call 01403 260560 or email [email protected]