Pen pal club to help tackle isolation during the coronavirus lockdown

Published

22nd April 2020

A new pen pal club is being set up in Dundee to help keep people connected during the coronavirus lockdown.

Many who are living on their own or not able to get out and about during the pandemic because they are self-isolating may be feeling particularly lonely and cut off from the community.

But it is hoped the new pen pal club will help people to make new friends and be more sociable while they are stuck indoors.

The idea has been set up by the community companions team at Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action, who are matching up people with pen pals who have similar interests to them and encouraging them to write to each other at least once a month.

Clare Cockburn, from the community companions team, said: “We have literally just started in the last week or two and are taking names to match people up together.

“This is all about going back to the good old fashioned days of letter writing.

“We try to help people during the lockdown by making phone calls and things like that, but we are finding that although getting a phone call is great, it is for such a short period of time.

“We wanted to do something that would get people more involved.

“By exchanging letters, people are having to set aside time to think about what they are going to write, and then think about receiving their next letter.

“This will be a good way to try and reconnect people all over Dundee.

“I am really looking forward to getting this up and running, I am quite excited about it.”

The plan is already proving popular, with Clare saying her phone has been going crazy with people wanting to get a new pen friend to talk to during the lockdown.

She added: “Those who want to get involved can phone or email myself or my colleague Jordan with some basic details about themselves so we can match them up with someone.

“The joy of this is they can get to know that person, so we want to find things that are of interest and what similarities they might have in common.

“We are also wanting to get those who maybe don’t have anyone checking in on them during the lockdown involved.

“This will definitely go on throughout the lockdown and beyond as there will be longer consequences for the foreseeable future, particularly for older people.”

Those who are interested can contact Clare on clarecockburn@dvva.scot or 07983 707168 or Jordan on jordanward@dvva.scot or 07983 706626.

Those taking part can also have stamps sent out to them by the organisers to help them get involved.

 

To read the original article, please visit the Evening Telegraph Online 

Dundee Volunteer & Voluntary Action

Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action is a Registered Charity (No SC000487) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (No SC093088) Registered address: 10 Constitution Road, Dundee DD1 1LL Dundee Third Sector Interface (TSI) is a partnership between Dundee Social Enterprise Network and Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action

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