Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 20 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Earlier this month we held a Younger Neighbour social at a quaint and vibrant watering hole in the city centre, The Dispensary. It’s here where 25 neighbours enjoyed one another’s company for a couple of hours, playing games, chatting and getting to know one another on a deeper level.
It was a pleasure to witness people from different walks of life - including a communications officer, students, a clinical psychologist, a musician, the director of a small business, a lecturer, and a Civil Engineer (to name a few!) - strike up conversations and share stories over a few drinks.
One of the motivations for running a younger neighbour social is to help our neighbours build closer relationships and form friendships through something they all have in common: being part of a network helping combat isolation and loneliness in communities. And we wanted to thank our wonderful neighbours for being so great!
We help tackle isolation and loneliness by running free Social Clubs, as well as through our Love Your Neighbour programme and our Community Fundraising. Neighbours benefit from meeting one another at social events like this - it’s a way to meet like-minded people who share the same values. When you come to a Liverpool Cares club you know that everyone in that room wants to socially connect on a deep level and get to know the people they share the city with.
Take Robyn (34) who joined in 2021 and told us, “I really appreciate the chance to socialise among just the other younger neighbours sometimes" and newly recruited Martin (44) who joined in March and said, “It was fantastic to meet all the other younger neighbours.”
An important part of any community-focused project is to listen and receive constructive feedback. That’s why at every Social Club we’ve now introduced a 'Feedback Book’, giving neighbours the opportunity to tell us about their experiences. At the younger neighbour social, Chloe (33) wrote “An excellent choice of pub, fantastic bunch of individuals, loved mixing with the younger neighbours over a glass of wine, what a lovely idea.”
At this younger neighbour social we also encouraged neighbours to give feedback in a somewhat ‘non-traditional’ way by summing up their experience of Liverpool Cares as a cocktail, mocktail or drink of their choice. And in true younger neighbour style they did just that!
For example, Jenni’s (37) 'Cup of Togetherness' was "a taste of the familiar with a twist – anyone and everyone could try it", while Martin’s 'Liverpool Libre' was a combination of Cola (lively and bubbly) with Dark Rum (mature), with a fruity fresh garnish over ice!
Vipul’s (24) experience mixed Limoncello and Aperol Spritz to make "The Lerpewlcello – a cocktail with a bit of a twist symbolising the random fun stuff at social clubs" while Saul (35) decided on a drink to "Spice up your life – a fun and fruity with refreshing ideas, full of bubbly personality stemming from love."
We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our younger neighbours in the network for continuing to show up, get stuck into clubs and support neighbours of all ages as well as supporting their own well-being by proactively seeking more connections in their local communities.
We're looking forward to seeing these younger neighbours (and many more!) at May's Social Clubs including a Eurovision Quiz, a Local History Club, a relaxing Chair Yoga Session and virtually for Desert island Discs.
There are many reasons that neighbours join our network – to meet new people, improve their health, step outside a comfort zone, and discover the city and spaces in new, creative ways, and this social demonstrated just that in a cupful!