In the week before Christmas, the STFC Community Foundation and STFC Official Supporters Club were busy preparing and delivering over 100 Christmas Parcels to the participants of the Tackling Loneliness Together programme. The packages included food essentials, Christmas puddings, mince pies, lots of chocolates, and gifts such as baseball caps, drinks bottles, books, mugs and more. These were delivered all over Swindon and Wiltshire. 

We’ve been running our Tackling Loneliness Together programme since the first lockdown, initiated in partnership with the English Football League, and aimed at combating feelings of loneliness in older people. The term ​‘loneliness’ is often confused with social isolation, but Age UK defines loneliness as a negative feeling that people experience when the relationships they have do not match up to those they would like to have. Loneliness often begins when people lose significant relationships or the opportunities to engage in ways they find meaningful. 

This year a large number of older people have been unable to connect with friends and family in the same way due to the pandemic, so the project is designed to help mitigate these feelings in Swindon and the surrounding areas.

Head of Foundation, Jon Holloway, said of the project:

“This year has been so difficult for so many reasons, so it has been absolute joy to finish with something like this. We’d like to offer our sincere thanks to everyone who helped us realise this project: The Official Supporters Club, Intel, Imagine Cruising, the Swindon Food Collective, Swindon Scrap Store, Tesco, and others! Your kind donations of food, gifts, time, and effort have helped impact the lives of countless people across Swindon and Wiltshire.”