It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas at Teams and Bensham Community Care!
Our Tuesday craft group has been designing their Christmas cards for months, with special orders already being placed will in advance.
We've got our favourite live entertainers ready on standby for our Christmas parties too.
Now the Monday ladies lunch club group have made wonderful Christmas table decorations.
In recent weeks, we employed a lunch club assistant, Karen, thanks to funding from Gateshead Council.
Karen has so many ideas for activities and with an amazing background in floristry, as well as working with older people, she has hit the ground running with festive table decorations.
First of all, Karen made a design to show the Monday ladies group who attend from mid morning to mid afternoon to socialise, enjoy a freshly cooked two course meal together, and to take part in activities. Our accessible minibus transport takes care of the journey from home and back again, making it a lovely day out with all of the arrangements taken care of.
Using Karen's example, the ladies then created their own masterpieces with flowers, berries and decorative pieces, all arranged in a pretty, white vase.
Special projects like this one, made possible by the Coop Local Community Fund, make a wonderful addition to our regular activities.
Creative activities such as flower arranging have many benefits including relaxation, increased happiness and sense of achievement, and encourages socialising when the activity takes place in a group setting like ours.
After seeing the beautiful, uniquely designed arrangements our ladies have made, and how much they have enjoyed making them, we can't wait to see what other activities Karen brings to our groups.
Teams and Bensham Community Care is a registered charity supporting older people in Gateshead to alleviate and prevent the ill-effects of isolation and vulnerability. For almost three decades, we have provided lunch clubs, men’s groups, art and activities every weekday in our welcoming and accessible centre for up to 25 people each day. Our on-site cooks create traditional, freshly cooked meals and desserts as well as freshly baked goods for our beneficiaries to take home. For more information, visit tbcommunitycare.wixsite.com/gateshead or call 0191 4900945.