16th September 2023
Botanical Place Wellbeing Walk
Silver Friends were delighted to partner with Botanical Place - Thrive Living for a 5km Wellbeing Walk which was held on the 16th of September. An amazing £200 was raised through the event, and a big thank you to all our very generous sponsors!
Also in attendance was Jonathan Lord, MP and Councellor Josh Brown - their continued support is very much appreciated.
After the enjoyable event, Sandra Smook, had an opportunity to talk to the participants about the services at Silver Friends. Sandra said "we hope to continue to grow a very strong relationship with Botanical Place whose goals are very much in line with Silver Friends' in that we endeavour to improve the lives of the elderly in our community."
6th May 2023
King's Coronation High Tea Event
Silver Friends guests enjoyed a wonderful celebration Coronation High Tea. A HUGE BIG THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped make this a lovely memorable occasion for so many of our service users.
We were also able to celebrate Eddie Tann’s 100th Birthday. Eddie was pleasantly surprised by the fuss and attention he received.
Another highlight was the attendance of the Lord Mayor of Woking, Saj Hussain, who was able to share this memorable day with us. A great time was had by all.
3rd May 2023
Laura Trott, Minister for Pensions visits Silver Friends
Silver Friends had a visit from a very prominent government official, the Minister for Pensions, Laura Trott and some of her team.
They approached Silver Friends as they are on a fact-finding mission to understand how many pensioners are aware of pension credit. They asked us to invite 5 service users so that Laura Trott could speak to them on a one-to-one basis. As it turned out, all 5 service users were not aware of pension credit.
Jonathan Lord, the Woking MP was also in attendance. Laura Trott asked that his office send Silver Friends some printed information for us to distribute to all our service users. Our understanding is that there is over a billion pounds of unclaimed funds available.
Please see the following link for more information: https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit There is telephone numbers etc to contact to determine who might qualify. You may qualify even if you have other income, savings or own a home.
13th March 2023
Mel Primic joins Silver Friends as Volunteer Coordinator
Silver Friends are very excited to welcome Mel Primic as the new Volunteer Coordinator.
Mel comes to Silver Friends with a wealth of experience and infectious enthusiasm. Mel would love to hear from you if you have an interest in becoming a Silver Friends volunteer, so please don't hesitate to get in touch at mel.primic@silverfriends.org.uk
8th December 2022
Silver Friends and Greenfields School host outstanding Christmas Party
What a brilliant day to be able to host and serve a special Christmas lunch for our Woking elderly community. Silver Friends (Sandra Smook, Mandy Smook, & Jo Shackleton) and their volunteers are extremely grateful for the generosity of Greenfield School (Tania Botting, Meg Gardiner Boiling, staff, and the lovely children's choir) for hosting.
Thank you also to CH&CO and Bidfood UK for the delicious meals, and to Morrisons (Woking - Sharon Bowen) for providing us with the lucky draw prizes. Your generosity and kindness shown have enormously helped to make our elderly community feel so special. Each one of them left with a smile on their face and with many words of gratitude.
A big thank you also to Cllr Saj Hussain, The Mayor of Woking for making the time to come and show his support for such an important occasion.
28th October 2022
Silver Friends takes over the services of Age Concern in Woking
Silver Friends was approached by Woking Borough Council in September this year to take over the services of Age Concern Woking. Age Concern sadly had to close their services due to lack of funding, however, Sandra Smook, Founder of Silver Friends, was eager to continue the much needed services in order to try fill the gap that otherwise would've been left by the closure.
The transition from Age Concern to Silver Friends was officially concluded on Friday the 28th October 2022. Sandra commented, "We at Silver Friends are delighted at the prospect of continuing the service. Apart from the excellent home befriending service, we will also be offering events and outings to the Age Concern clients."
21st July 2022
Inaugural Silver Friends High Tea
We celebrated our inaugural Silver Friends event with a High Tea on Saturday the 16th July. What a truly wonderful day it was!
We had a total of 36 guests who were treated to an afternoon of gorgeous finger sandwiches and cakes served by our wonderful volunteers.
For some of our guests, it was the very first venture outside their homes since the start of the pandemic. They were overwhelmed by the attention and love shown to them, which reiterates the absolute need for our services.
Some of the guests were picked up by volunteers and others were transported via a suitable bus with wheelchair access. We are passionate about ensuring transport is not an obstacle, since this is what contributes to the isolation so many experience.
A big thank you to Roc for their generous contribution enabling this event to take place. Thank you also to Morrisons in Woking whose kind donations enabled us to make up 15 hampers for a lucky draw.