As national charity Contact the Elderly celebrates 50 years of combating loneliness in older people, the Pembrokeshire group, which hosts monthly tea parties for isolated older people, is calling for more support in the local area.

The group in Pembrokeshire is organised by local volunteers and will be celebrating the charity's Golden Jubilee with a special 'Big FifTEA' party on April 19.

With many over 75s isolated in their own homes and cut off from society, Contact the Elderly is appealing to Pembrokeshire residents to help them to reach more isolated older people locally.

The charity aims to relieve the acute loneliness of isolated older people, aged 75 and over, by hosting monthly tea parties in the homes of volunteer hosts. Volunteers are able to provide older guests with much-needed contact to make new friendships with local older people and younger volunteers.

A monthly tea party can make such a difference to someone's life and the group provides older people with valuable social opportunities each month.

Local volunteers in the Pembrokeshire group say that it's great to witness first-hand the impact that the tea parties have in improving the health and happiness of isolated older people in the community.

Contact the Elderly's Pembrokeshire group is celebrating its third anniversary of tea parties that help isolated older people in the local area. With 36 tea parties already under their belt and, the group will be hosting a special tea party to mark the occasion, which coincides with the national charity's 50th anniversary.

Sandy is the group coordinator for Pembrokeshire, she said: "The Pembrokeshire Contact the Elderly group is growing rapidly, to the extent that we are now looking towards starting up another two groups, a second one in Haverfordwest and one in Pembroke Dock. However, in order to do this we desperately need more volunteer hosts and drivers. If you would be interested in helping with the driving or hosting a tea party just once or twice a year, then please get in touch."

With 570 groups and 7,500 volunteers across the country, the charity is now appealing for more volunteers and local funding to access older people, many of whom do not have regular face-to-face contact with anyone other than their carer and the postman.

Mary Rance, CEO, Contact the Elderly, said: "We're very proud to be celebrating our 50th anniversary and are extremely grateful to our incredible volunteers for making our work possible. Fifty years is a remarkable landmark and in addition to celebrating our achievements todate we must think about the future of loneliness. The number of isolated over 75s is growing, and there are still one million lonely older people inEngland, Scotland and Wales who are completely cut off from society and need our help.

"Contact the Elderly has set ambitious targets to double its service delivery over the next five years. In order to accomplish this task, we need as much public support as possible in our Golden Jubilee Year and beyond."

For more information on how to volunteer with Contact the Elderly or if you want to come along to a tea party, visit http://www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk">www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk or free phone 0800 716543.