Keeping in touch with older members

Richmount Rural Community Association produced fortnightly community magazines and bimonthly videos mainly directed at older people.

Joe Garvey, Chairman of the Association said: “While we were making regular phone calls to our older people, we felt they were being left out of a lot of things.

“Even in normal times many are very socially isolated so we had the idea of producing regular magazines and videos not only to keep people updated on community events but to give them something interesting to read about the community they live in.

“They are also meant to bring a bit of fun as life in isolation can be rather gloomy and depressing.”

Joe said: “It would appear that a lot of agencies seem to think that everyone is on the internet and they avail of social media but this is not the case particularly in the case of the over 70s.

“Of course, there are a lot of older people who use the internet, but many don’t. We wanted to reach out to these people and keep in contact with them. So, we decided to print about 150 copies of the magazines and DVDs and personally deliver them to older people who we believe are not on the internet.

“This also gives our volunteers the opportunity to say hello to these people and establish if they need anything. This is totally non-intrusive and has been welcomed by our older Richmount Rural Community Association Working together for all in our community.”

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