at a glance: supporting older people in the community

Too many older people are isolated from their community. We help them to get back in touch with other people and lead more active, fulfilling lives.

We run 11 community centres, over 100 social centres and over 500 lunch and community clubs where around 12,000 older people catch up with old friends and meet new ones, and take part in social, fitness and learning activities.

Our community centres offer a range of different services, including:

• lunch clubs, community cafés or other food options
• healthy living activities like dancing, walking, fitness classes or gardening
• arts and heritage activities like art classes, reminiscence groups and book clubs
• computer courses and other learning activities
• social activities such as cards, games and outings
• information and advice.

WRVS social centres typically offer at least four different activities (usually including lunch, healthy living and social activities) and our lunch clubs focus on providing an opportunity for older people to meet once a week, or more, for their midday meal.

We also run trolley shops in 76 care homes and day care centres helping to make life a little better for older people using these facilities.