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‘ARMY OF VOLUNTEERS’ RESTART ‘LONELINESSBUSTING’ VISITS One of Sheffield’s leading older people’s charities has restarted ‘loneliness-busting’ face-to-face visits, after the pandemic forced their suspension. Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care (SCCCC)’s 66-strong army of volunteers are back chatting in-person to isolated older people, many of whom count television as their only friend. Precautions like face coverings, enhanced hygiene and social distancing remain, but charity bosses say the long-awaited return of physical get-togethers represents a ‘major milestone’ in their pandemic recovery. SCCCC Good Neighbour
Scheme team leader Tammy Wilson, said: “Many of our volunteers have provided weekly telephone chats and some will continue with these even after our core services resume. But for those who feel comfortable delivering and receiving them, face-toface visits will re-start with precautions in place. “We’ve all been through some tough times, but we never gave up hope that we could get one of our flagship services back up and running, so this represents a really important milestone for the charity.” The scheme aims to help older members of the community by enhancing their
SCCCC GOOD NEIGHBOUR SCHEME TEAM LEADER, TAMMY WILSON, LEFT, WITH A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY
quality of life and is provided free of charge. “We’ve currently got a backlog of staff visits to people who were referred to us during the pandemic,” said Tammy. “Where appropriate, we will be matching these people with volunteers so we’re always open to more people giving up their time to lend support.”
SCCCC is recruiting new volunteers. A full induction and DBS checks will be carried out to ensure all volunteers are suitable to support service users. To find out more or to volunteer, email volunteers@scccc.co.uk or call 0114 250 5292.
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE TO HOST BRITISH DISABILITY SNOOKER EVENT The Stephen Harrison Snooker Academy (SHA) is staging the British Disability Snooker Championship Under 25s event in Sheffield on October 30 and 31. Sheffield-based social enterprise SHA was founded by Stephen Harrison in memory of his father Ray Harrison who was the Paraplegic World Snooker Champion, winning a gold medal in 1985. Ray was in a wheelchair at 16 years old. He was a victim of polio, but became highly successful at playing the sport and promoting the game to many disabled people. Former professional snooker player Stephen said: “Dad was such an inspiration. He taught
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me the game from an early age and never lost his enthusiasm and joy in taking part in a competition. “I want to follow his example, growing the interest at grass roots level and giving everyone who wants to learn the opportunity to play this
wonderful sport. “The Academy has been providing snooker coaching, competitions and training sessions for people with physical and learning disabilities since 2007 and we intend to continue to offer sporting facilities and tuition to
all future newcomers. “Since 2008 we have also run a Saturday Club and a Holiday Snooker Club for children with special needs where they don't just learn how to play snooker, but also gain the chance to meet new friends and socialise.” Stephen has also designed The UK Snooker Awards programme, a 60-hour learning module. To date, 66 children have completed the exercises to reach award-level. There are more than 30 confirmed entries for the British Disability Snooker Championship Under 25s event, with participants travelling from around the UK to enter.
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