Meadowhall partners with local schools and Age UK to spread festive cheer

It comes as part of Meadowhall’s latest Christmas initiative, in partnership with the charity, which aims to bring people together over the festive period and tackle feelings of loneliness or isolation.

According to Age UK, last year over 2million older people said they felt lonely at Christmas, with multi-generational interaction playing a key role in fostering a sense of togetherness and connection within our communities.

Meadowhall provided over 200 specially created Christmas cards, which were designed by local artist Lauren Radley, with children from schools including Hinde House Primary School, Concord Junior School, Wincobank Nursery and Infant School, and Brightside Nursery and Infant School. Pupils then wrote their Christmas wishes on the cards before they were shared with elderly people within the Sheffield area through the charity.

This week also saw Meadowhall host a special festive Tea Dance, bringing together Meadowhall’s regular tea dancers with local school children from Brightside Nursery and Infant School, who hand-delivered their handwritten Christmas cards to attendees to help spread some festive cheer.

The centre’s weekly tea dance welcomes older members of the community to dance the morning away, with live music and a free tea or coffee, offering a well-deserved break and the chance to come together with friends.

Darren Pearce, centre director at Meadowhall, commented: “While Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year for many of us, sadly for some in our community it can feel isolating. Our Tea Dances are always incredibly popular in bringing people together, especially over the festive period, and this year we’re excited to be able to extend our support of the community throughout the season.

“We’d like to thank all pupils at participating schools for making this year’s Christmas Tea Dance so special, and we hope our Christmas cards can help to bring a few more smiles over the seasonal period and to make sure no-one feels alone.”

Adam Howard, Senior Community Engagement Officer at Age UK Sheffield, added: “We would like to thank the team at Meadowhall for organising this great initiative.  From our work across the city, we know that bringing the generations together can make a big difference to people’s lives, of all ages.  We see it work wonders, again and again. 

“Our work is about ending poverty and isolation, and the ending of the universal winter fuel allowance has added greatly to our workload this year.  Our hearts are lifted when someone comes up with an idea like this, and we see the joy it brings to older people in our communities.”

To find out more about Meadowhall’s Tea Dances, please visit https://meadowhall.co.uk/news/tea-dance

Or to plan your perfect festive day out at the centre, visit https://meadowhall.co.uk/christmas-day-out