Going for Gold with Southern Befrienders and FPI

The Southern Befrienders, a charity which arranges for volunteers to visit the elderly, is launching a new scheme, Going for Gold.

It’s in conjunction with six schools in the south of the Island, the Isle of Man Sports Council southern development unit and Friends Provident International.

Based on an Olympics theme, Going For Gold will begin this autumn and run until 2012, the year of the London games.

It will begin with six schools in the south of the Island – Ballasalla School, Victoria Road School, Arbory School, Rushen Primary School, Scoill Phurt Le Moirrey and Castle Rushen High - taking part in a dress down day to raise money for Southern Befrienders.

Pupils will be asked to wear something coloured bronze.

In 2011 there will be fundraising events with a silver theme and events with a gold theme in 2012.

Going For Gold challenges pupils to raise a total of £21,000 for the charity which arranges for volunteers to visit the elderly and help make them feel less isolated.

The £21,000 figure has been chosen because, by 2012, the charity estimates there will be 21,000 elderly people living on the Island.

As well as fundraising, Going For Gold will help to educate pupils about issues affecting elderly people and aims to create a greater understanding between different generations.

Southern Befrienders organisers and volunteers will visit schools to take part in classes. To get the scheme off the ground, Friends Provident International, which is based in Castletown, has donated £2,500 making it the charity’s main corporate sponsor.

The company already has a strong connection to the charity as five Friends Provident International staff are volunteers with Southern Befrienders and visit elderly people in the south.