Bridging Generations

For over two years now, Evesham College, in collaboration with Evesham Rotary, has been organising a series of events where young and older people can mix, interact and enjoy themselves.  An ageing population, family members not living nearby as well as hearing, sight and/or mobility challenges can lead to the social isolation of more and more people within our communities.

The objective of the project is to organise events where guests can enjoy a lunch followed by a social interaction activity such as a quiz, bingo, music etc., with College students taking part. The interaction between young and older people benefits both groups.

The catering students prepare meals for ‘real’ events and can interact with the guests serving the meal and take part in the social event afterwards. The care and hospitality students learn to organise events and experience in real life how to interact with older people. And at the same time, both groups have fun!

The program started in the autumn of 2017 with 18 to 24 guests per event. The most recent event took place on March the 19th, 2020.

With the Covid19 lockdown it was naturally impossible to continue. The College is closed, and our potential guests are in lockdown. Evesham Rotary keeps in touch with the ‘regulars’ to make sure they are all OK.

We will continue the project as soon as possible, but that might well be 2021. The events take place at Evesham College, Acquired Brain Injury Building, Davies Rd, Evesham WR11 1LP.

For more information, or, even better, if you would like to join in, please contact Hein van der Steen at Evesham Rotary!

Afternoon Tea - 17 June 2019

The last event of the 2019 term was a delicious afternoon tea with lots of tasty cakes. Through the year, we have seen numbers participating to the point where we are close to the maximum number for this meeting. The students and the older people all thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to interact and learn about each other's point of view. We'll publish dates for the next term's sessions soon.

A little bit of history from 2017 - the project is launched!

A new initiative to tackle loneliness and social isolation amongst the elderly has been launched in Evesham.

Evesham College, in collaboration with The Rotary Club of Evesham, is organising a series of events where young and older people can mix, interact and enjoy themselves.

The ‘Bridging Generations’ project saw 20 guests welcomed to college on Monday 15 January for a two-course lunch followed by entertainment in the form of bingo.

The main objective behind the project is to connect young and older people over food and social activities and several more events are being planned for the coming months.Social isolation is believed to affect about one million older people in the UK, and has a severe impact on people's quality of life in older age.

Louise Badham, Head of Department, Supported Learning, Re-engagement and schools at Evesham College said: “This project allows students to interact with the wider community in a real life scenario  and learn new skills. They have been involved in every aspect of this event such as planning the menu, cooking the food and serving the dishes. I am very proud of what they have achieved.”

The seasonal home-cooked lunch was expertly prepared and served by the students on the Supported Learning catering course, whilst the Health and Social Care students welcomed guests, joined in with the lunch and then led the afternoon’s entertainment.

Supported Learning student Kady Chaplin, aged 16 from Evesham said: “It’s been a fun project to be involved in and has been a new opportunity for me. I have learnt new skills such as teamwork and the importance of timing. I would be interested in working in a local cafe or restaurant when I finish college so this gives me a really useful learning experience.”

The founder of the project is Hein van der Steen, Vice President of the Rotary Club of Evesham. He said: “An ageing population, family members not living nearby and hearing, sight or mobility challenges can lead to social isolation of more and more people within our communities. Therefore, attending a simple event like this where they can enjoy some social interaction can have a really positive impact on an older person’s well being.”

Pauline Prew, from Evesham, who came with her friend Betty Powell, also from Evesham, said: “I live alone, so coming out today has been wonderful! The meal was delicious and the students have been so very warm and welcoming. The interaction between young and older people benefits both groups. I’ll definitely be coming back again!”

Rosalyn Lambert, Head of Department for Sport, Public Services, Hospitality, Counselling and Care, said: “The benefits of running this project are huge. All our Hospitality and Care students have a mandatory 200 hours of work experience as part of their course so this project helped by giving them an opportunity to do some of these hours in a meaningful way. It’s been a really positive experience working in partnership with another department and, importantly, it all helps make Evesham College part of the wider community.”

The dates for the next lunches are 12 February, 12 March and 23 April 2018, 12-2pm and anyone interested should call Carol Stayte on 01386 712682 to book a place. Tickets cost £5 per person and transport can be arranged if required.

On Monday 12th February 2018 we were able to hold our second Bridging Generations lunch, which again was very successful. 

If you would like to take part in future meetings, the next one is 12 March, please contact Carol Stayte on 01386 712682.