NEWS

Wetherby in Support of the Elderly has reopened a much loved café lifeline for older people. WiSE says the revival of its café in Boston Spa represents a crucial milestone in its pandemic recovery- after a spirit sapping year for older people across its patch. The WiSE Owl Café offers a safe space to socialise for dozens of isolated older people- but was forced to shut its doors when coronavirus first hit last year. Christine Hardman, who runs the café, said: “We’re really excited to finally be in a position to reopen our café, which we know brings so much…

Wetherby in Support of the Elderly’s newest addition says she cannot wait to begin offering activities to isolated older people who’ve spent months alone and behind closed doors. Debbie Todd has joined WiSE as its new activities coordinator and will be responsible for providing social events to older people across the town and its surrounding villages. Debbie is starting the role alongside her popular business, Angels & Butterflies, which provides creative craft workshops and parties for children and adults. Debbie said: “I already knew about the excellent work WiSE does for older people and felt that I have lots of…

A Wetherby charity boss is taking on a double dose of fundraising dashes in just one day- after a race he’d entered got rearranged. Mark Dobson had already pledged to raise money for Wetherby in Support of the Elderly by signing up to the Wetherby 10K in September. But now Mark will take on the Leeds 10K as well- a race which he’d entered last year but which then got postponed by the pandemic. The two races are separated by just a few hours, but Mark hopes his madcap challenge will inspire more runners to raise money for the charity…

Wetherby in Support of the Elderly’s longest serving volunteer has backed calls for more people to come forward to support its work, as plans to restore core services for older people gather pace. WiSE says it wants more people like Jacqueline Heseltine to consider volunteering with them as it plans to reintroduce some face-to-face activities, befriending visits and events from next month. Jacqueline, aged 68, from Thorp Arch, is about to celebrate her sixth anniversary as a WiSE volunteer and says the best bit about her role is knowing the difference she makes to an older person’s life. Jaqueline said:…

Wetherby’s Local Police Community Support Officer is conducting free Home Security Surveys in the community. This is a great opportunity to meet your local officer and gain Crime Prevention Information which could help prevent you from becoming a victim of crime. This is a free service and will be conducted externally around your home. To take up this offer, please contact PCSO Louise Crossland, at the Wetherby Neighbourhood Policing Team, by email – louise.crossland@westyorkshire.police.uk or by phone 07802 717314. WiSE has also been provided with a copy of their “Do It Yourself, Home Security Check Sheet.” To get a copy,…