A CHARITY celebrates one year of supporting the elderly and building friendships.

Contact the Elderly has been hosting monthly tea parties in Salisbury for the past year, to bring people aged 75 or over who live on their own together.

And presented with £276 from Salisbury’s Waitrose the latest festive lunch, hosting 15 guests, not only celebrated Christmas but the charity's birthday.

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Hayley Stokes, a Contact the Elderly support officer, said everyone at the Christmas tea party had a “lovely time and left with smiles on their faces”, adding: “Our older guests are isolated from family and friends and aren’t able to get out and about much, so our monthly tea parties are incredibly important to them and they look forward to each event immensely.”

The events are purposely kept small so they can be enjoyed in the comfort of a volunteer's home.

Last year Contact the Elderly groups supported 6,223 older guests across the UK.

Hayley added: “95 per cent of the older people we work with at Contact the Elderly say they now have something to look forward to and our volunteers enjoy the events as much as our older guests – friendships are formed across the generations and it is truly wonderful to see.”

For more information or to find out about becoming a volunteer host, visit the Contact the Elderly website.