Northampton club praised for giving people ‘new lease of life’ celebrates eight successful years
A club, which has been praised for giving members a new lease of life and assisting them in making new friends, has celebrated eight successful years up and running in the town.
The Good Companions Cuppa Lunch Club helps to bring people together, and it has only got bigger and better since it was founded by Karen Gardner.
Karen dealt with obituary notices in her former job, meaning she came into contact with a lot of elderly people who had lost loved ones after many decades together.
Seeing this loneliness and isolation encouraged her to start the group – which grew from four of Karen’s elderly acquaintances to a festive lunch for 15 by Christmas the same year.
Now, there are 114 members and a team of 15 volunteers, who Karen could not run the group without.
Chris Mortimer and Romano Gallo joined the team early on, and they were later accompanied by a number of individuals who run the kitchen, front of house and ‘Good Companion’ buddies who greet new members and integrate them in.
The group has made a significant difference to the community, with members looking forward to each session and seeing their new friends at Broadmead Community Church.
The eighth anniversary celebration was held last Wednesday (October 16) and Karen was asked how it felt to reach such a milestone.
“It’s really lovely that we do such a good thing for so many people,” she told the Chronicle & Echo. “I never dreamt it was going to get the response it’s had.
“There’s an awful lot of loneliness out there and I spoke to many people who had lost a partner after 50 or 60 years of marriage. They suddenly felt their lives were over and there was a void they didn’t know how to fill.
“When I was made redundant, I thought what a lovely thing to do to bring senior citizens together for a coffee.”
Karen never anticipated what it would grow into and, eight years on, she feels just as passionate about being there for the community.
The founder described the celebration event as “lovely” and said the attendees went home feeling happier after an afternoon of singing, dancing and companionship.
The bi-weekly meetups help to distract from the difficulties they face in their lives – and for some members that includes cancer, Alzheimer’s, dementia and suddenly having to care for loved ones.
Karen mentioned one member in particular, who has both dementia and Parkinson’s disease. “I hold his hand while the music’s playing and wave his arms to join in,” she said.
“A couple of weeks ago at a session, he wanted to stand up and we had a dance. He showed that he enjoyed it and it’s the little things like that.
“A lot of people go home and say what a lovely time they’ve had and how much they look forward to the next one. It makes me emotional as I know how my mum suffered when my dad passed away. They had been together for 70 years.
“You don’t have to live alone to be lonely. Some people become the main carer and there’s not the infrastructure to support them. Doing what we do, if you help a handful of people it’s good.”
The founder wanted to emphasise how easy it is for anyone to start something like this, even if they do not want to grow it to the scale of Good Companions.
“Inviting a neighbour or two round for a coffee when you can and having regular contact makes them feel as though somebody cares,” said Karen. “Everybody can do something.”
She would one day love to see the Good Companions Club with a minibus to collect attendees, or the support of more volunteer drivers – which she believes would see the number of members rise.