Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 18 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Older neighbour Elda (87) is an active volunteer and member of her local community, as well as being a wonderful friend to Laura (33) as part of our Love Your Neighbour programme.
Elda told us all about how she combines her hobbies and interests with her passion for supporting and connecting with others – she really is an inspiration.
She started volunteering at the tea bar at The Christie (hospital for cancer treatment) back in 1998 and continued until they sadly closed the tea bar ahead of the pandemic – an impressive total of over twenty years! Elda loves sewing and made denim bags so the nurses could carry their syringes and samples in style. She also took patients to the hospital chapel on Sundays. Elda still regularly visits hospital patients and spends time chatting with them.
A keen gardener, Elda has also given her time to a community gardening project at Didsbury Park. Her latest volunteer role is at her local Oxfam shop, where she serves customers and often puts her sewing skills to good use, mending donated clothes so they can be given a new lease of life. This role has given her the chance to reconnect with an old work friend, and keeps her busy on a Monday afternoon!
Pictured above: a dress Elda made, and her own garden which she enjoys tending to.
Laura and Elda met through Love Your Neighbour back in October 2021. They catch up regularly, usually over coffee and cake or a delicious lunch. Elda loves to cook for others and some of her specialties include gnocchi, tiramisu, arancini and sweet potato fritters, as well as what Laura described as “the best apple pie I've ever tasted". They have also taken a trip to Manchester Jewish Museum together (of course stopping by the cafe on the way out) and joined in with some of our Social Clubs.
Elda shared "It's the best thing that I met Laura, she's really really nice. I'm very pleased with her. I think she's really a godsend” while Laura said “Me and Elda have a very easy and fun friendship. We chat constantly and are very respectful of each other. I absolutely love my match with Elda, I feel that Manchester Cares couldn't have matched me with a better person.”
Pictured: Elda and Laura at Manchester Cares Fifth Birthday; Elda with one of her famous cakes.
We asked Elda what advice she might give to someone wanting to feel more connected to their community: “If they feel like joining their community, why not? Especially to meet somebody like you [Laura]. My mother-in-law used to say, older people need younger people around them – that's true. [The Love Your Neighbour programme, bringing together] a young one and an old one, it’s really perfect, it’s the best”.
A huge thank you to Elda and Laura for sharing their experiences with us, and for being part of our Manchester Cares community.