We all know the great work SIPP does in the community. The staff and volunteers are there to help our community in the tough times, from hospital visits to making sure people are keeping warm in winter.

We all know SIPP is also there for the nicer times, the home visits for a cup of tea, the weekly games of cards, bingo and of course the now legendary St Patricks and Christmas parties at Millwall FC. We are so thankful to all at the club, our tireless staff and our amazing volunteers and all our friends and supporters.

I would like to share some real numbers behind all of this, our own BINGO. In the past month, at the start of 2024 our small team made 292 home visits to 121 elderly people in their homes to make sure they were doing okay. On top of that they made 337 phone calls to do the same. They helped 48 people sort out problems with council tax, welfare benefits, GP and hospital services and a multitude of other things that were causing worry and anxiety. They helped them claim over £31,000 in benefits they were entitled to but were not claiming.

There were 24 hospital visits and also help with hospital discharges, where we make sure people are safe and comfortable in their homes with support in place. There were 49 visits to the drop in advice centre helping with all sorts of issues. At the moment we have 28 befriender volunteers who make visits to elderly people at home throughout the week. All of this is free to users.

Ah now...there's also the fun stuff! Around 12 people take part in our weekly Yoga class, over 100 people attend our day services for chat, bingo and now soup every week in Bermondsey and  Brixton. The  Christmas fair had 65 people enjoy a great afternoon, the Christmas party was as always packed, over 200 people attended, there are still 2 walking sticks in lost property!

I hope you agree thats a lot of numbers... if you had your bingo card out you are sure to have a full house!

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(These monthly figures and those quoted throughout the website are for Jan 2024)


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We are all missing seeing our friends and of course we haven't been able to go back home on holiday this year.  Back in the day letters would be a regular way of communicating but sadly few do that now.  Think of the post we get - all official mail and rarely except maybe at Christmas and on birthdays do we find personal mail in our mailboxes. There's no excitement opening an e-mail and even if it says something lovely you're not likely to print it to keep?  We should try and rediscover the art of letter writing because without a doubt it is the best connection with family and friends.  My mother who lived to 93 used to tell me " don't be phoning me because I have forgotten what you said as soon as I put the phone down.  Write to me every week and I can reread your letter over and over to remind me what you wanted to tell me"  My father had a different take on my letters!  When I went home there might be several tucked away and he would produce them and point to words he couldn't read and ask me what they were and why my writing was not clear as my sister's was!  It drove me mad yet  he still did it and to his credit he did write often to all of us.

Sending postcards was just one of Rita's great ideas.  I didn't think it was very important and how wrong I was! 

I heard from staff that so many had phoned in to say how welcome and uplifting the cards were.  They showed we were thinking of them and assuring them that help was only a phone call away.  
   
After the 2nd post out I said I never wanted to see another postcard and that was partly due to the fact that they were all pictures of Donegal - over 600.  Had I found even 1 picture of a location in another county that would have been great!!  No offence to you Donegal people - Donegal is beautiful but beauty is mostly in the eye of the beholder!! With that in mind I contacted the Irish Tourist Board in Dublin asking for cards representing each county in Ireland and finally to-day spoke to a lovely Dublin girl who will do her best to find what we want so fingers crossed that some time in November members/clients will get a card that will truly remind them of home whichever county they come from.  If you, reading this, think you can help me get what I want please do and I'll be happy to send you a Donegal card in return!!  You can e-mail me on [email protected]   - see there it is again - the quick option! Now many of you will have received a stamped postcard ready to send. Please make sure you use it and send that message to one of your friends that you are missing from the club, this is how we can all make sure we stay in touch, stay connected. 

Nora Higgins