Our Extra Time Hub uses the power of Sunderland AFC in the local community to bring people together.
A programme of weekly activities run in partnership with the EFL, designed to increase social interaction and reconnect those aged over-55 – to some, the hub provides participants with a lifeline, improving their social lives, allowing them to make new friends – giving them something to look forward to on a weekly basis.
Activities include coffee mornings, bingo, quizzes, table tennis, Sit and Be Fit exercise sessions, Pilates and much more!
This Loneliness Awareness Week, we caught up with Extra Time Hub participant Jimmy Stanness, who admits the hub has made a huge impact on his life. He said: “On a Tuesday I really look forward to the Extra Time Hub. 18 months ago, I lost my mother, my sister and two dogs and I was really on the bottom.
“I was down and depressed in the house and I got to hear about Extra Time Hub and it’s made a really big impact on my life. I can recommend it to anybody – it’s full of lovely, friendly people.
“Out there in the big world, there’s loads of people like myself who live on their own, feel very lonely and at Extra Time Hub you get to meet new people who do different ventures every week and it’s been a really big part of my life.”
If you’d like join Extra Time Hub or you’d like to find out more about the programme, click here.
The ’We Are Role Models’ campaign shines a light on the Foundation’s ongoing work across Sunderland, South Tyneside and County Durham, supporting boys and young men through sport, education and mentoring.
In our latest piece we catch up with Claire Bovill and Julie McCann about their volunteering experiences.
Azeem Iftikah came to the Foundation of Light to help settle in the UK after arriving as a refugee, but he is now an integral part of the Wear Together sessions at The Venue in Stanley.