Christmas shopping help for older people

Archived press release

Date Published: 30/11/09

Christmas shopping is ‘in the bag’ for older people in Aylesbury Vale thanks to a helping hand from local agencies.

Aylesbury Vale District Council teamed up with Aylesbury Youth Action and Age Concern Bucks to help older residents of the district carry out their Christmas shopping.

More than 40 young volunteers helped the older shoppers to choose presents for family and friends at the annual Christmas shopping event held in Aylesbury town centre.

Councillor David Thompson, Cabinet Member for Leisure at AVDC, said: “This is a significant event aimed to help older people during the festive season. It is a great chance for our older residents to meet young people, enjoy the festive atmosphere and get their Christmas shopping sorted. The volunteers did a brilliant job helping the older shoppers who really enjoyed themselves.”

This year’s Christmas shopping event was organised as part of the Generate project. The aim of the initiative is to bring generations together and break down barriers between young and old.

The project is being run by AVDC in partnership with Aylesbury Youth Action and Age Concern Bucks. Previous activities have included a Nintendo Wii challenge, cooking workshops, gardening sessions and drama classes.

Philippa Taylor, Volunteer Development Worker at Aylesbury Youth Action, said: “Our thanks go to everyone involved in the project, especially Shopmobility, for all their support and help in making this year’s event a success.”

For more details on how to get involved with Generate, call 01296 421149 or email youthprojects@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk