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Redwoods Lunch Club celebrates 10 years!

The Redwoods Lunch Club is a community group for seniors to socialise over a delicious Lunch every Monday from 11am to 1pm. Attendees are provided a cooked meal, homemade dessert, refreshment and most importantly an opportunity to socialise in a relaxed atmosphere. Now having celebrated It’s 10th birthday (In December 2023), the lunch club additionally offers a game of bingo, a quiz, music and occasional guest speakers. 

Starting in 2013, The Redwoods lunch club has always provided seniors with the chance to socialise within their community and create friendships and many members find the Redwoods Lunch Club to be a great way of reducing the feeling of loneliness and isolation that can come with living independently. For the 2016 Community Achievements Awards presented by the Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council, The Redwoods Lunch Club won the award for ‘Action in the Community’ which we were nominated for by Lesley Mayes, former district councillor who is now the Stowmarket Town Council Chair.

On the 4th December 2023, we celebrated a decade of the Redwoods Lunch Club during our annual Christmas Dinner whilst surrounded by members from both of the Lunch Club groups. To add to the festive cheer, we were also joined by our special guests, Stowmarket Town Mayor Nick Gowrley and his consort Heather. Our celebration began with some joyful carols played by longstanding Redwoods Lunch Club member Shirli, who truly helped get everyone in a jolly mood. Following the carols was an entertaining Christmas quiz that kept us all on our toes. 

We are incredibly grateful for the continuous support and assistance from Tesco Stowmarket. The store manager Andrew and his team – Amanda, Linda, and Sarah-Lou, who all went above and beyond to serve a scrumptious Christmas feast to all of our members. Their hard work and kind gesture included gifting chocolates to each member and vouchers to the Volunteers, which made this celebration even more special. We cannot thank you enough for all of your support!
 
Finally, thank you to our lunch club member, Dick, for his incredible donation of £200 towards our Christmas dinner. With the additional help of food items donated by Tesco Stowmarket, we were able to provide a delicious feast free of charge and truly embody the spirit of Christmas and community.
We are also incredibly grateful to our dedicated volunteers, both old and new, as well as the hardworking staff at Red Gables who have been instrumental in making the Lunch Club a warm and welcoming environment for isolated individuals over the past 10 years. Your unwavering efforts have created a safe haven where everyone feels included – thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
 
Kindly funded by:

Red Gables projects are designed to be dementia-friendly and our building is fully wheelchair accessible, complete with a dedicated disabled toilet. Carers are always welcome to accompany those who require additional support, and our friendly volunteering team will provide any necessary assistance and ensure that everyone feels welcome. Whilst both of the Redwoods Lunch Club groups are now at maximum capacity, if you are interested in attending or if you want to get involved as a volunteer, please do get in touch to be added to the waiting list for when more space becomes available.

A big thankyou to everyone who came to support our first event which raised us a total of £247.06! A huge thankyou to the Stow Crafters, we look forward to the future events.
Cash and card payments are accepted! Free but limited parking on-site. If you or someone you know would be interested in having a stall at the next craft fair, then please email elaineredwards@yahoo.com or call 01449 673947