Who we are and why we're here.
Founded by local volunteers in 1948, we've spent 78 years making sure older people in our community are never forgotten.
Our story
Aylsham Older Peoples Association began in 1948 around a kitchen table in Aylsham. Three volunteers had noticed the same thing on their rounds with the local WI: a generation of older neighbours going quietly unseen. Weeks passing without a knock at the door, meals skipped, birthdays unmarked. They started with a clipboard of names, a shared car, and a promise to visit everyone on the list at least once a fortnight.
Within two years the rota had grown to eighteen volunteers and the kitchen table had moved into a rented room above the old post office. We registered as a charity in 2004, opened our first day centre in 2009, and added community transport in 2013 after losing a long-standing member who couldn't get to her hospital appointments. Each service grew out of a gap we kept running into, not a plan drawn up in advance.
Today we support around 1,200 older people across Aylsham and the surrounding villages every week, with three services, a small paid team, and 120 active volunteers. We still start with a knock at the door and a cup of tea. The rest we build from there.
What we do
Three services, built around the moments that most often slip away as people grow older: sharing a meal, staying in touch, and being able to leave the house.
Our day centre runs four days a week with a cooked lunch and a full activities programme. Our befriending team makes weekly calls and home visits to people who live alone. Community transport takes members to medical appointments, shopping trips, and each other's birthdays.
Who we support
We support older people living in and around Aylsham: most are over 75, many live alone, and around a third have no close family nearby. Some come to us after a bereavement, others after a fall or a hospital stay that has quietly changed what they can manage on their own.
There is no referral form and no means test. A phone call from the person, a neighbour, or a GP is enough to start. We listen first, then work out together which of our services, if any, might actually help.
78
Years supporting Aylsham
4,500+
People helped since 1948
120
Active volunteers today
Our people
Meet the team
Margaret Whitely
Chief Executive
Joined in 2014 after fifteen years in local adult social care.
David Okonkwo
Head of Services
Oversees the day centre, befriending, and transport teams.
Priya Shah
Volunteer Coordinator
Recruits, trains, and supports our 120 active volunteers.
Tom Beresford
Fundraising Lead
Grants, community giving, and the Christmas appeal each year.
Governance
Aylsham Older Peoples Association is a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 1009280), overseen by a board of nine trustees who meet quarterly. Our latest annual report and accounts are available on request, just drop us a line.
Keep in touch
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