Edinburgh born celebrity Gail Porter helps launch Christmas card campaign to help tackle loneliness and isolation in UK’s loneliest city
Edinburgh-based Vintage Vibes launches its Christmas card campaign with the support of Edinburgh-born celebrity Gail Porter. The Christmas card campaign encourages people to send free personalised Christmas cards to the Vintage Vibes VIPs (lonely over 60s) to help tackle loneliness this Christmas.
Edinburgh is the loneliest city in the UK for over 60s, with 11,000 being always or often alone and 2 in 5
anticipated to have the TV as their main form of company over this Christmas period.
To ensure as many VIPs as possible receive a thoughtful card, a short profile on a specific VIP will be included with the card. This lets the person writing the card get to know the VIP, and encourages them to be more personal when writing their message.
Cards can be requested and sent out over the Vintage Vibes website vintagevibes.org.uk/christmas,
emailing hello@vintagevibes.org.uk or by texting ‘cosy’ to 70300. Christmas cards are available from today and the deadline for requesting a card from Vintage Vibes is Friday 8 December 2017.
Award-winning Cuckoo’s Bakery has agreed to support the campaign and Christmas cards can be picked up and posted for free at their Dundas Street and Bruntsfield Place locations. The team at Cuckoo’s Bakery have also created a special ‘Vintage Vibes Cosy Cupcake’ which will be available to purchase in-store from now until December. 25% of all sales of the Cosy Cupcake will be donated to Vintage Vibes. The Christmas cards themselves have been subsidised by the kind efforts of staff at Standard Life offices in the city.
Vintage Vibes is a charitable partnership between LifeCare Edinburgh and The Broomhouse Centre and
Enterprises and aims to take a fresh approach to helping Edinburgh’s lonely and isolated over 60s by providing friendship and support that is personalised to their needs and interests. By matching volunteers to local VIPs based on personal interests and compatibility, Vintage Vibes combats isolation long term through weekly visits and additional events for their VIPs to socialise with others.
Currently, there are 70 matched VIPs across the city, with 140 being matched since the project began and another 70 on the waiting list. The Christmas card campaign is being launched with the support of Edinburgh born TV presenter, Gail Porter.
Georgia Artus, Development Manager, Vintage Vibes, says: “Christmas is often the loneliest time of the
year for over 60s, so we’re encouraging everyone to get involved with our Christmas campaign. By simply spending a few minutes of your time picking up a card and writing a message, you will be making our VIPs’ Christmas so much brighter.
“Our volunteers can be a lifeline for these incredible VIPs who may have become lonely, one of our VIPs called his volunteer “a shining light when she walks through the door” and another said her volunteer “made her feel human again.
“I started my involvement with Vintage Vibes as a volunteer, taking my dog Molly along for weekly visits, and saw what a difference taking a little time can make. Volunteering helped me understand that something as simple as receiving a Christmas card can really make a positive impact on someone’s life when they spend so much time in isolation. So, pick up a free card and help us spread some Christmas cheer to Edinburgh’s over 60s.”
Gail Porter, supporter of Vintage Vibes and TV presenter, says: “I’m delighted to support Vintage Vibes and their Christmas card campaign. Loneliness and isolation can be extremely detrimental to someone’s mental health. We often take for granted the little things in life, including receiving cards at Christmas, so why not show someone you care and send a free card to VIPs this festive season? It’s the best Christmas present you could give!”
