Asda aims to tackle loneliness this Christmas
Supermarket chain Asda and Asda Foundation have invested £500,000 to help combat loneliness this Christmas.
The Asda Foundation will support over 550 community groups via its Better Together grants, which aim to reduce social isolation over the festive period.
One venture the charity has helped is the Memory Lane Cafe in Halifax. The business secured a £1000 grant through one of Asda’s ‘Community Champions,’ which has paid for dementia friendly equipment and a Christmas party for over 60 members and volunteers of the dementia group.
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Tracy Butler, senior manager for the Asda Foundation, said: “Millions of people are very fortunate to be surrounded by friends and family at this time of year, but that’s not the case for everyone, and that’s why we are investing over half a million pounds to bring communities together to help combat loneliness.”
Research conducted by the supermarket last Christmas highlighted that 17% of over 60s said there were days they didn’t speak to anyone in the run up to Christmas and one in ten reported they went to the supermarket just to have someone to talk to.
Butler added: “It’s heartbreaking to think that so many over 60’s might not speak to anyone at all over the Christmas period. We are going all out to bring as many people together as possible this Christmas.
“We would urge everyone to do the same. If there’s somebody, anybody – young or old – who you know is going to be struggling for company this Christmas, pick up the phone or go and pay them a visit.”
To encourage more people to talk, Asda employees will have the option to wear a ‘Happy to Chat’ badge.
At the end of 2025, the not-for-profit will have invested £60 million into funding local regions over the last 36 years.
