Friends of the Elderly bringing 40 years of service in Ireland helping their older community.
Friends of the Elderly are celebrating their 40 wonderful years working with older members of the community, bringing friendship and compassion to those who live in isolation and loneliness. It is core to Friends of the Elderly’s mission, and it remains one of the greatest challenges they still face today.
There are over 80,000 older people over the age of 75 living alone in Ireland and for many, they experience unbearable loneliness. 23% who live alone do not see or speak with someone every day. 2/5 of older people use the TV as their main source of company.
Bernie Curran, Operations Manager says “Friends of the Elderly is a charity that for the past 40 years has been at the heart of fighting loneliness and isolation for older people throughout Ireland. Today more than ever, we find ourselves challenged to meet this need due to the current COVID-19 restrictions. Long may Friends of the Elderly continue its important work and hopefully we will see much happier times in the future”
Leading the birthday wishes is Ronnie Delany, “Honorary Ambassador” to Friends of the Elderly. “It is my greatest pleasure to wish Friends of the Elderly a wonderful 40th Birthday”, Ronnie says. “It is a charity which I know personally has helped so many older people who struggle with loneliness and isolation. Friends of the Elderly does tremendous work and I wish to them many, many more years of success”.
Tom Horan, Chairperson, added: “Reaching our 40th Anniversary is a fabulous milestone. It is tinged with sadness that we cannot celebrate. We are currently experiencing a huge increase in demand for our services as the environment older people find themselves in is so detrimental to their health. I wish to thank our dedicated 250 volunteers and staff who work tirelessly to combat the effects of loneliness and isolation on our elderly community daily. I would also like to thank our donors and supporters who make our work possible.”
On the occasion of its anniversary, the association was honored in the Irish Times, one of the most important Irish newspaper.
