Design Gaffer's tea cosy for Communi-tea Week and help Bupa tackle loneliness in older people

Joining forces for Communi-tea Week:Gaffer with Bupa's customer services director, Tracey Fletcher, and founder of baa ram ewe, Verity Britton. 

February 2012

Bupa care homes are teaming up with the Tetley Tea Folk and are calling on communities across theUKto create a special 'Communi-tea Cosy' for Gaffer.

The aim is to raise awareness of Bupa's Communi-tea Week [12 - 18 March], a nationwide campaign which uses the theme of tea to tackle the problems of isolation and loneliness in older people.

The tea cosies, which can be either knitted or designed on paper, need to be submitted to Bupa by the end of Communi-tea Week for the chance to be crowned "Gaffer's Communi-tea Cosy".

With the latest research from Age UK indicating that nearly one million over 65-year-olds only see close friends or family once a month or less, Bupa's care homes are hosting hundreds of tea parties during Communi-tea Week, inviting those who may be struggling on their own to come and meet new friends over a cuppa and help design or knit a tea cosy.

Tracey Fletcher, Bupa's customer services director, said,

"This is a great opportunity to put the kettle on, get creative and reach out to someone who you know may be lonely and get them involved. We want as many people as possible to create a tea cosy that Gaffer will be proud of and make this year's Communi-tea Week one to remember."

Five designs will be selected at the end of Communi-tea Week to go through as finalists to a public vote on Tetley's Facebook page. The winning design, "Gaffer's Communi-tea Cosy", will then be available as a knitting pattern to purchase, with 10% of sales from every pack being donated to Age UK.

The campaign is being supported by the leading independent knitting retailer, baa ram ewe, and Simply Knitting, who will also be judging the competition to select the finalists.

Verity Britton, founder of baa ram ewe, added,

"Whether it's knitting your own tea cosy or creating your own design, this challenge is aimed at anyone who wants to help raise awareness of a great cause. From tea dances through to knitting circles, let's brew up some community spirit and help make a real difference to someone in need of some support."

Guidelines and terms and conditions, together with a knitting pattern and paper design template, can be found at the Tetley Tea Folk's facebook page orwww.bupa.co.uk/communi-teaweek.

Finished tea cosies or paper designs need to be posted to "Gaffer's Tea Cosy Challenge", Bupa Care Services, Bridge House,Outwood Lane, Horsforth,Leeds,LS18 4UP, along with entrant's name, age, address, and telephone number and/or email address - to arrive no later than Friday 16 March.

Paper designs on the template provided online can also be emailed to communi-teaweek@bupa.com

Anyone wanting to attend a Communi-tea Week event or enter the "Gaffer Communi-tea Cosy" competition can call 0845 600 4622 for further information