Welcome to Golden-Oldies
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Who
  • Where
  • GOLDIES CYMRU
  • Support Us
  • Events
  • WW1 Schools Project
  • Contact Us
  • Vacancies
  • Watch
  • Gallery
  • News
  • History
  • Links
  • The Goldies Shop

Goldies looks forward to 2016

12/21/2015

0 Comments

 
PRESS RELEASE
Monday December 21, 2015
 
Goldies looks forward to 2016
 
A charity that has singing for older people at its heart is looking forward to 2016, reaching out to hundreds of lonely isolated folk across England and Wales.
 
From small beginnings the registered charity Golden-Oldies has exciting plans for the new year which include the opening of its first sing&smile Goldies Charity Shop in Keynsham, a major October open day for older people in Wales under its Goldies CYMRU banner and an ambitious programme of new sessions across Yorkshire, Essex, Staffordshire the West of England and Wales.
 
Years of conducting choirs by Bath-based music man Grenville Jones illustrated to him how the joy of singing and belonging to a group had huge social advantages.
 
Eight years ago in January 2008 Grenville started four daytime fun singing sessions for older people in Bath and Bristol. In 2106 that session location number will reach 150.
 
The first four took place in sheltered housing community rooms. Looking back, Grenville remembers clearly the day he walked into a community room one cold January morning. He asked an elderly gentlemen sat in the corner what events took place in the room. The answer came back;
 
“We used to have fish and chips and bingo but they don't do that anymore.
 
“The only time we come here now is when someone dies and we come to their Wake!”
 
Grenville made the decision then to start his charity called Golden-Oldies bringing fun singing and activity sessions that would give older people a REASON to get out, to be with other and, most importantly, to sing and to smile to the popular memory evoking tunes of the 50s onwards.
 
Recent events have included a sell-out fundraising concert in Staffordshire, BIG Saturday SINGS in Braintree, Swindon and many Christmas parties, all organized by the 40 dedicated session leaders. The Lord Mayor of Bradford showed her skill at doing The Twist at the launch of Goldies at Silsden near  Bradford in October.
 
As 2016 arrives there are now over 140 sessions across England and Wales, and hundreds of older people who eagerly anticipate their regular weekly or monthly Goldies session, as the charity has become fondly known.
 
As Goldies has spread so have the locations which now vary from church halls, clubs for elderly folk, the lunchtime sessions organised by the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation in Wales and a host of community centres.
 
Those attending are older people, many suffering with dementia and Alzheimer’s, adults with learning difficulties and, through the charity’s award-winning schools intergenerational project, hundreds of primary schools.
 
In 2015 Goldies launched new sessions with Afro Caribbean Elders in Bristol, Gloucester and Swindon. A session engaging with Asian Elders singing Bollywood music as well as one with Chinese older people singing in Cantonese. Just some of the highlights of 2015.
 
Another exciting development in 2015 was an innovative programme with the library services at Cardiff City Council. New daytime session have been introduced at three libraries including the Cardiff Central Library Hub where people of all ages sing, smile and dance in the aisles.
 
In Wales also under a Lottery supported programme a book of Welsh folk songs was introduced at the end of 2015, popular melodies that will be enjoyed at both Goldies and school events in Wales in the future.
 
The Goldies Shop in Keynsham is planned to open in February. The charity is working in partnership with Dorothy House Hospice Care, another unique partnership arrangement.
 
Mike Richardson is the Chair of the Goldies Trustees. He said;
 
“With Dorothy House as our partners the first Goldies Shop will give us a presence in the community and, if successful, we hope to introduce more shops across the Goldies areas in the years ahead. This is a major step forward for our charity and the income will help us to sustain and introduce more daytime singing and activity sessions.”
 
As Goldies enters 2016 it sets its sights and aspirations to become Goldies UK in the months and years ahead.
 
Founder Grenville Jones concluded;
 
“If we can reach out to hundreds of people with our existing popular sessions there is no reason at all to assume that if we could gain the necessary financial support we could brighten the lives of thousands upon thousands of lonely people across the whole of the United Kingdom.”
 
www.golden-oldies.org.uk and www.goldiescymru.org.uk
 

ENDS
 
Grenville mobile is 0777 828 2934
 
jonesgrenville@aol.com
 
www.grenvillejones.biz

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    July 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Thanks to The Garfield Weston Foundation for supporting the websites of our Charity 
Golden-Oldies Charity Ltd -  a company limited by guarantee
Company No: 6369123 - Charity Reg No: 1121600