THE Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) community centre in Hungate, Pickering, is calling on volunteers to help older people live happy, healthy, independent lives.

The service currently has about three volunteers, but said that more are needed to dedicate a couple of hours a week.

The centre has a lunch club on Mondays and will soon launch a drop-in service on Wednesdays.

The lunch club provides those who use it with a chance to leave the house and meet friends, meet new people, and enjoy activities.

The new drop-in service on Wednesdays is to be launched later in the year and will be a chance for people to drop by, have a cup of tea and chat to others, as well as joining in with some activities if they would like.

Natasha Mort, operations manager, said: “These are really vital services for older people in the community. Spending time having a chat and getting a nutritious meal may not seem like much, but it makes a massive difference to the older people who use the services. Our volunteers are fantastic and they really enjoy what they do; they get as much out of volunteering as they put in.”

Those who sign up can choose to dedicate as much or as little time to volunteering as they like - on average two hours a week.

For details, phone Natasha on 0113 8873597.