Housing Plus Group has awarded £1,200 to a community breakfast club that’s helping to reduce social isolation among the over 55s in a Staffordshire village.
The affordable housing provider agreed to sponsor Eccleshall Community Lounge’s breakfast club after its funding was stopped.
The donation to the club, which is held at the Holy Trinity Church, will mean it can continue to serve up healthy breakfasts including toast, pancakes, porridge, Danish pastries and fruit, as well as hot drinks and juice.
Up to 25 residents attend the club every month, where they also take part in activities such as quizzes and bingo.
Housing Plus Group stepped in to help after hearing the club was under threat.
Samantha Allcott, Director of Housing at Housing Plus Group, said: “The club provides a date in the diary for the more socially isolated and vulnerable members of the community to look forward to each month as well as a healthy, filling breakfast to set them up for the day.
“Thanks to our donation, the breakfast club will be able to remain active for another year.”
The funding came from Housing Plus Group’s My Community Fund, which helps to support a wide range of projects run by voluntary groups and organisations in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Telford.
Chairman of Eccleshall Parish Council, Ros Taylor, volunteers at the breakfast club. She said: “We were absolutely delighted by the support we received from Housing Plus Group, we didn’t know how we would carry on without it.
“A lot of those who use the breakfast club live by themselves and can feel socially isolated. They want somewhere they can go, see each other and have a chat. It’s really important to a lot of people and they look forward to it.”
The breakfast club runs on the second Friday of every month from 9.45am to 11.30am inside the parish rooms outside the Holy Trinity Church. The next session will take place on Friday, September 12.
Joan Lynne and Chris Thomlinson look forward to the breakfast club each month. Chris said: “We were worried that the club wouldn’t be able to carry on, so we were really pleased when we heard about the funding. We really look forward to coming.”
Joan added: “You get to meet other people that you don’t really see other than here and I really enjoy coming once a month for a chat.”
The My Community Fund, delivered in partnership with Jewson and Efficiency East Midlands Limited (EEM), supports grass-roots organisations in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Telford. Local charities and voluntary groups can apply for grants online at: https://www.housingplusgroup.co.uk/contact/my-community-fund/