Let’s hear it for the groupies!

From bingo clubs to luncheon clubs, from community groups to keep fit classes…

There are hundreds of volunteers working across our borough to help organise clubs, groups, societies and events with older people in mind. It’s a vital role that helps keeps hundreds of older people active and engaged.

So it’s about time we said thank-you to all those selfless folk who give up their valuable time to help others.

Well that’s exactly what will happen on Friday (September 28) when Wigan Council and Age Concern thrown a ‘do for those who do’.

More than 80 organisers from 50 different older people’s groups will converge on the Derby Rooms at Leigh Library to receive special thanks from Mayor of Wigan Cllr John O’Brien.

The mayor will present certificates to those who have been instrumental in organising some of the groups and events that act as a lifeline to many older people.

Wigan Council’s Network Co-ordinator for Older People Helen Coffey says:

“The people who organise these groups are some of the real unsung heroes within our community and they deserve a big thank-you.

“Of course many of the people who run such groups are themselves older people and there are not always ‘younger people’ to take their place when they step down.

“The event will include a number of presentations that will offer practical solutions to these problems, but the main theme of the day will be a celebration and thank these wonderful people for their valuable contribution.”