Nina Stobart

I started Not Home Alone in 2013, after a very personal experience with a local senior citizen who had decided there was nothing to live for, with no family and few, if any friends in the area. It made me think how lucky we are to be surrounded by those we love. My family and I decided to hold a free and open lunch on Christmas Day for anyone over 65’s without any family, and what a fabulous day we had. We took over a local restaurant, had fabulous volunteers to cook and help look after the needs of our guests. We picked our guests up, gave them a fabulous 4 course lunch, with entertainment, a Christmas present and dropped them back home with memories of a Happy Christmas, not a lonely one. On top of the 60 we catered for we also delivered over 500 gifts to others who would be alone in the Lincolnshire area. All thanks to the wonderful generosity of the local people. This is now annual, we are continually fundraising and we hold other ad-hoc events throughout the year and in August 2016 we achieved charitable status. Surely friendship and time must be one of the most valuable gifts you can give?