Tenants with Scotland’s leading house and care providers were set to celebrate today with a tea party bringing together service users, relatives and the local community.
Bield’s Donaldson Court in Edinburgh is hosting a Superjam Tea party which allows residents to enjoy cakes, lashings of jam and live entertainment- all brought together by Fraser Doherty, the brainchild behind Superjam.
Fraser started making the jam with his grandmother in 2005 when he was 14-years-old and following visits to Bield’s Carntyne Gardens in Glasgow, makes a significant contribution to tea parties at Bield services. Whenever possible, Fraser will host the parties himself.
His grandmother would make homemade jam and scones and visit older people in her Glasgow neighbourhood and Fraser was so inspired by his grandmother that he decided to turn this hobby into a career.
Fraser’s successful career has enabled him to provide free tea parties for older people across the globe.
Since 2010, the SuperJam have contributed to hundreds of free parties for older people who live alone or in care.
He said:- “I have fond memories of visiting Bield services as a little boy with my grandmother so it’s great to be able to go back and keep the tradition going.
“I want these SuperJam Tea Parties to raise awareness of loneliness and show the difference made when we get residents and the local community together to simply enjoy each other’s company.
“It’s a great chance to chat, make new friends and most importantly, have a laugh. Hopefully the party will encourage more people to visit services in their area as spending just a few hours with somebody who lives alone really can make a world of difference.
“I plan to keep the parties going across the world and get as many people together, laughing and ultimately using the jam as a way to get people together.”
SuperJam Tea Parties have been extremely popular across the globe bringing older people together in countries such as Australia and Korea.
This will be the first time the party has visited the Edinburgh service where residents are already looking forward to a day of socialising and indulging in cakes and scones.
Kevin Rowe, fundraising manager for Bield, said: “We are thrilled to host a SuperJam Tea party at Donaldson Court.
“It really helps raise the awareness of loneliness and encourages residents, relatives and even members of the community to come together and spend time chatting and laughing.
“Hosting events like this where it’s a case of simply eating cake and drinking tea makes such a difference to our residents’ lives and helps bring the community together.
“Everyone is welcome to the party so we’re all looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar and new faces at the party.”
Anyone can volunteer to set up a SuperJam Tea Party by applying for a grant at www.superjamteaparties.com
Bield – a registered charity- provides housing and care services for older people in Scotland, starting out with one housing development in Bo’ness. Established for over 40 years, Bield provide a range of care services and housing for over 20,000 people across twenty two local areas.
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