A NEW organisation has been created to support older people in Cockermouth, following the closure of Age UK in West Cumbria.

Two former Age UK employees, Ali Desovska and Jen Benbow, have created a new non-profit organisation T’Gether to support the more than 80 people in and around Cockermouth, who were left ‘devastated’ at the loss of their weekly activities after the charity shut down in May.

Ms Benbow said: “I have been with this group for six years now doing the fitness classes and when we found out that we were getting shut down I just wasn’t having it.

“I decided I wanted to start a non-for-profit organisation, wanted to keep everyone in this group together. I wanted Ali to come with me on this journey and start an organisation to keep everyone in this group going as they were just with a different management and organisation.”

The group have fitness classes twice a week run by Ms Benbow, with art classes, a lunch group, craft groups, knitting groups, singing groups and many more.

On a weekly basis at least 80 people were supported by Age UK, with the information, advice and helpline desk getting over 100 enquiries a week ranging from power of attorney to cleaning enquiries. The group says it will maintain this service, running it from the Cockermouth library at least once a week.

Most of the clubs and activities will now be held in the Masonic Hall rooms on Challoner Street in the town from next week.

The team have had an ‘overwhelming’ amount of community support from the community of Cockermouth, they said, with a fundraising page making over £3,000 to support the continuation of the activities in the town.

Ms Desovska said: “In terms of the day to day running I am doing exactly what I have been doing for the past 10 years, it’s just we are no longer associated with Age UK.

“We have had a massive amount of support from volunteers and the community support has been overwhelming as well, so actually we are looking forward to doing it in a slightly different way.

"There is a lot more community potential for it.

“They were devastated when I had to tell them. For them, the loss of the support and the friendship and community was a horrendous piece of news to get so it was important for us to make them aware that everything was going to continue.”

Pat, a member of the exercise group, spoke of how important the support has been for her in recent years and more recently after suffering a stroke. She said: “It’s been really important, because I have been poorly for two years, so I have needed the support of these people to keep me going on.”