News

London Celebrates International Grandparents Day With A SuperJam Tea Party

29 September 2008

Around 100 elderly people, parents and school children are to join the Mayor of Harrow at Harrow School to celebrate International Grandparent’s Day with a SuperJam Tea Party, organised by 19-year old entrepreneur Fraser Doherty.

The event which takes place on the 5th of October from 3pm-5pm is one of around 100 SuperJam Tea Parties set to take place across the UK throughout Older People’s Week (October 1 to 5). Fraser has worked on the events with Contact the Elderly, a charity that arranges social events for older people. Ethical tea company Today Was Fun will be serving their range of ethical teas at all of the events.

The Tea Party will include a knitathon which, once completed will supply blankets to an orphanage in central India. There will also be music from Shamisen Club and the school band, and also a free raffle.

Mayor of Harrow, Councillor John Nickolay, thinks it’s a great way to get the older generation to mix and socialise with the younger generation. He said:

"Elderly people are such an integral part of Harrow's community so I am happy to celebrate International Grandparent's Day with events and activities that bring local people together."

Jonathan Ross, a supporter of Contact the Elderly events which allow older people to get together and socialise in a safe and friendly environment, said:

“The gatherings are great fun and you can see how they make a big difference to many lives.”

Fraser Doherty made headlines last year when he became the youngest ever supplier to Waitrose’s network of UK food stores with his range of healthy jams. He now supplies many other retailers and this summer launched SuperJam Tea Parties to give isolated or housebound older people the chance to socialise at local community centres over tea and scones.

The initiative is supported by the John Lewis Partnership - Waitrose are donating tea and cakes, while John Lewis will supply wool for the all the events.

Fraser’s childhood memories led to the idea behind the Super Jam Tea Parties. He was inspired by his gran – the one who gave him the secret recipe that has led to his success – and her work with housebound older people. The pair used to visit isolated elderly in their local neighbourhood with scones and jam to spend time chatting with them.

Fraser Doherty said, “I have my gran to thank for the SuperJam recipes, without which I wouldn’t be running a successful business, but all too often we forget the contribution older people make to our society.

“These larger events to mark Older People’s Week will raise awareness of Super Jam Tea Parties – the ultimate aim is for them to take place across Scotland year-round as a way of tackling the isolation and loneliness the elderly often experience.”

Fraser hopes that the concept may eventually develop to include tea dances for older people. A team of volunteers are helping to make the Tea Parties go with a swing.

Contact the Elderly are delighted to be part of such an event and fully support Fraser’s initiative. Roderick Sime, Director of Contact the Elderly, said:

“It is great to be involved in celebrating UK Older People’s Day with Fraser in London. We want to make lots of people aware of the isolation amongst older people and how something as simple and fun as a tea party can help to reduce this. We hope this event will inspire many more people to get involved and help reach those most isolated and lonely.”

-ENDS-

For further information, interviews or photographs please contact:
Shaheena Abbas on 0131 556 0770 shaheena.abbas@pagodapr.com

Notes to editor:
1. To read more about SuperJam or to read Fraser’s ‘blog’, check out: www.superjam.co.uk
2. Fraser won an ‘Enterprising Young Brit Award’ at the age of 15 and was later invited to Downing Street and commended by Gordon Brown.
3. He was also named the ‘Global Student Entrepreneur of The Year’ in a competition that saw him compete against 750 students from around the world, many of whom were running multi-million dollar enterprises.
4. Contact the Elderly is a national charity founded in 1965. It aims to alleviate the acute loneliness often felt by older people. CTE volunteers arrange for older people over 75 to spend afternoons together at the home of a volunteer host. There are currently 340 Contact the Elderly groups nationwide.
5. Today Was Fun was created by CEO and Tea Lady, Sharyn Wortman. She conceived both the company and the Tea & Philosophy range while visiting Los Angeles. - www.todaywasfun.com