Good Morning Britain's 1 Million Minutes campaign - help prevent loneliness this Christmas

It is estimated that over one million older people in Britain suffer from chronic loneliness, which often can be felt more over the Christmas period. In an attempt to make a difference, ITV's breakfast programme, 'Good Morning Britain', has launched a 1 Million Minutes campaign, asking for people to pledge just 30 minutes of their time to talk to or support an older person who may be alone this Christmas. 

The programme has teamed up with a number of voluntary organisations such as The Silver Line, The Royal Voluntary Service and Age UK to suggest a range of volunteering opportunities to suit different people. For example, you can pledge 30 minutes, one or two hours of your time either on a regular basis or as a one-off event.

Here are some suggestions: -

• Pledge to volunteer with The Silver Line to speak to one or two older people on the telephone.
• Pledge to meet someone local, either a friend, relative or neighbour that.
• Pledge to teach an older person how to use Skype or Facebook.
• Volunteer at a lunch club, hospital ward or coffee morning.
• Help an older person with their Christmas shopping or to run errands.
• Call and elderly neighbour or a friend that you haven't spoken to for a while.  

The above are just some suggestions. Take a look at the Good Morning Britain website to find out further details.