Christmas Tree delivery in Willie Bermingham Place as part of Share Your Warmth Christmas campaign.

Dublin, 7th December : ALONE, the national charity that helps older people to age at home, is once again collaborating with Andy Kenny and Firtree to deliver residents of ALONE’s Willie Bermingham Place Christmas tree’s and an early Christmas dinner.   

This is a great part of ALONE’s Christmas campaign over the years and the organisation is delighted to be able to celebrate Christmas a little early. This is off the back of ALONE launching its Christmas campaign, Share your Warmth in mid-November. 

Andy Kenny, co-ordinator of the Christmas tree deliveries, said “We’re delighted to be back again for the 9th year, supporting the residents in Alone by bringing them a real Christmas tree and dinner to get everyone in the festive spirit.  So often we forget about our older neighbours and family, who are Alone at this time of year and this is a simple but effective way of bringing them some support and company” 

ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan, said: “Our Christmas campaign is all about drawing on that trust and community spirit to make sure no-one gets left behind this Christmas.” 

Moynihan continued, “By the end of December, ALONE will have supported around 40,000 older people across 2024 and made nearly 300,000 phone calls supporting people across Ireland. Our incredible volunteers and staff are there for older people 365 days of the year, but Christmas is a great time to reflect on how far we’ve come, and the challenges older people still face in health, finance and housing issues.” 

“This year, we expect to deliver over a thousand Christmas dinners to older people throughout the country. There are thousands of older people who’ll be the life and soul of the Christmas festivities this year, in their families and communities. But for some, that knock on the door from an ALONE volunteer might be the only visit they get this Christmas.” 

Outlining the changing demographics of modern Ireland, Moynihan said, “We are the fastest ageing population in Europe and that makes Ireland older people the fastest growing age group. We are living longer, healthier lives but ageing is not the same for all.” 

He continued, “We have a loneliness epidemic in Ireland, 57% of the older people we assessed report feeling lonely, and that’s especially acute at Christmas. The best way to share your warmth is to look in on an older neighbour, make sure they know there is support for them if they need it and remember that our National Support and Referral Line – 0818 222 024 – is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, including over Christmas, and please support ALONE if you can.” 

Trees are all supplied free of charge by firtree.ie and likewise dinners by The Homestead Bar in Cabra, Dublin 7. 

ALONE is also encouraging anyone to contact us to refer an older person or to get some support for themselves on our National Support & Referral line 0818 222 024.