Top Slot Sites supports Age-friendly Sheffield community events

We’re grateful to Top Slot Sites for supporting our recent community events, helping us bring people together across Sheffield and create welcoming, accessible spaces for people aged 50+ to connect, share experiences, and take part in local life.

Across the spring and early summer, Age-friendly Sheffield ran a series of community get-togethers in neighbourhood venues right across the city – from church halls and community centres to libraries and cafes. These events are at the heart of what we do: small, friendly gatherings where people who might otherwise spend long stretches of the week alone can drop in, share a cup of tea, and find familiar faces. With this support behind us, we were able to put on more sessions, in more parts of Sheffield, than we could have managed otherwise.

Why these events matter

Loneliness and social isolation affect thousands of older people in Sheffield, and the effects ripple out into physical and mental health, confidence, and the simple sense of belonging to a place. Our community events are designed to chip away at that. They are deliberately low-key and welcoming – there is no pressure to perform, no fee to pay, and no need to come with anyone. People arrive as strangers and, more often than not, leave having made a connection that lasts well beyond the afternoon.

Over recent months these sessions have included shared lunches, reminiscence and storytelling afternoons, gentle movement and chair-based activity, craft and gardening tables, and informal “tech help” corners where volunteers sit alongside people to demystify a smartphone or video call. Each one is shaped around what local people have told us they want, rather than what we assume they need.

Putting accessibility first

An event is only welcoming if people can actually get to it and feel comfortable once they arrive. That is why accessibility runs through everything we plan. We choose venues with step-free access and accessible toilets, we think carefully about seating, lighting and noise so conversations are easy to follow, and we hold sessions at times of day that suit people who prefer not to travel after dark. Where transport is a barrier, we work with local partners to help people get there. The support from our partner this season made it possible to cover venue hire, refreshments and materials so that every event could stay completely free for those attending.

“I started coming because my husband passed away and the house was too quiet. Now I’ve got people I look forward to seeing every week.”

Comments like that one, shared by a regular attendee in the south of the city, are the truest measure of whether these events are working. We hear again and again that the value is not in any single activity, but in the rhythm of having somewhere to go and someone to see – a reason to put the kettle on for two cups instead of one.

Built with the community, not just for it

None of this happens without the volunteers, venue hosts and local organisations who give their time so generously. Co-production – designing things together with the people who use them – is central to how Age-friendly Sheffield works, and our community events are no exception. Older residents help decide where sessions are held, what they involve, and how to make newcomers feel at ease from the moment they walk in. That sense of shared ownership is a big part of why people keep coming back, and why they bring friends and neighbours with them.

Looking ahead

Buoyed by the response this season, we are already planning the next round of get-togethers, with the aim of reaching neighbourhoods where fewer activities are currently on offer for people aged 50 and over. We are grateful to everyone who helped make the recent events possible, and to the supporters whose backing meant we could keep them free, accessible and open to all.

If you’d like to come along, host a session in your area, or volunteer at a future event, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.