Bringing people together over food and fun activities creates lasting memories. This week, our lunch club friends enjoyed a great day decorating gingerbread biscuits with coloured icing, edible decorations, and shimmering edible glitter. This festive activity is great for creativity, social connection, and getting into the Christmas spirit. Creative activities like gingerbread decorating are really beneficial for engaging our fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, all whi

We’ve had such a great time at our Men’s Group Christmas Party yesterday, and following on from our last blog , we've got so many more photos to share from the day! It was a fantastic afternoon full of great food, live music, dancing, and festive cheer, with plenty of smiles all around. The amazing Shirley Mac brought the sparkle with her songs, wigs, and energy, filling the room with joy and dancing🕺. Our members enjoyed a delicious two-course festive lunch, some fun Christ

Our Men’s Group celebrated the festivities in style this week with a fantastic Christmas party filled with music, great food, and plenty of festive activities! We were treated to live entertainment from the fabulous Shirley Mac, who brought the house down with her music, and incredible wigs. Her lively performance had us up dancing and singing along, the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit! Members enjoyed a two-course festive lunch, specially prepared for the occas

This week our Wednesday Lunch Club members celebrated the festive season in style! The room was filled with laughter, friendship, and plenty of Christmas jumpers as everyone came together for one of three of our annual Christmas party. Guests arrived in comfort thanks to our accessible minibus transport, which ensured everyone could travel safely from home and back again ready to enjoy a wonderful afternoon of celebration. Our members were treated to a delicious two-course C

We had such a brilliant time at our Wednesday Lunch Club Christmas party this week! After a lovely Christmas lunch and some fun festive activities, we were treated to live entertainment from the fantastic Mike Memphis. He really got the room going singing all the classics and bringing plenty of Christmas cheer. There were smiles all round, a bit of dancing, and lots of singing along. The afternoon was a perfect mix of good food, laughter, and great company, just what our lunc

Our 2025 Wednesday Lunch Club Christmas party was full of laughter, festive cheer, and a touch of friendly competition! One of the many highlights of the day was our brilliant bottle-rolling game. The aim? Roll a bottle down our long table and land it perfectly in the right section to win a festive goody bag. Sounds easy? Not quite! It took concentration, coordination, and just the right amount of momentum to make it stop in the winning spot. Too much speed and it would roll

Our lounge has been transformed ready for our festive parties! We're so excited to bring you our much loved Christmas parties over the coming days, and we hope you enjoy seeing the preview. Our wonderful staff and volunteers have worked their magic to make the lounge look extra special, ready for plenty of laughter, music, and delicious food. Our tables are set ready for our Christmas parties this week! Our lovely team has been adding the final touches ready for the parties s

The Teams and Bensham Community Care Christmas raffle was back this year, and bigger than ever! On 2nd December, as our Lunch Club members arrived and settled into their seats with a cuppa, we drew the tickets and handed out all of the brilliant prizes (95 in total!) all kindly donated to us in previous weeks. As always, it was a lovely atmosphere at our day centre were we host two men's groups and three lunch clubs every week, but it's even more special at Christmastime. T

As we wave goodbye to another year, we can’t help but smile at all the wonderful memories made across our lunch clubs and men’s groups. From wonderful activities and hearty meals to new friendships blossoming each week, 2025 has been full of connection, warmth, and community. If you’re looking for friendly company, a good meal, or a welcoming place to spend time in 2026 we’d love you to join us. Celebrating 2025: Food, Friendship, and Fun This year, our lunch clubs and men’s

We’re excited to share the latest progress on the refurbishment of the Holy Rosary Parish House, an important project that will help ensure this much-loved building continues to serve our community for years to come. For 35 years, Teams and Bensham Community Care has been a lifeline for older adults in the area, hosting lunch clubs , men's groups , and a variety of social activities designed to combat isolation, promote wellbeing, and offer a sense of belonging. The charity p

We’re delighted to share that Teams and Bensham Community Care  has received generous support from the Co-op Local Community Fund  towards activities at our lunch clubs and men’s groups. Through the fund, we received an initial £500, followed by an incredible £1,113 raised by Co-op Members who chose our charity as their local cause. This wonderful contribution will help us continue providing warm, welcoming spaces where older people in our community can enjoy good company, n

We’ve had even more Christmas box scenes created at our lunch clubs recently, and, as always, they're beautiful! It’s been wonderful to see how much creativity and care has gone into each one. They have twinkly lights, and plenty of festive sparkle. Everyone has put their own spin on it, and no two boxes are the same. What’s been really lovely is seeing people really enjoying the activity amongst friends. The finished boxes make great gifts or keep-sakes, and they’re definit

Teams and Bensham Community Care, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people in Gateshead, is thrilled to announce it has secured £15,000 in funding from the Bernard Sunley Foundation. The grant will support the charity’s ambitious project to refurbish its new premises at the Holy Rosary Parish House, ensuring the space is accessible, safe, and fit-for-purpose to better serve the local community.

We’ve really enjoyed continuing our Christmas box frame scenes at our lunch clubs and men's groups. It’s been lovely to see everyone getting creative, chatting, and having a good laugh while making their festive frames. Each one has been completely different, and the results have been fantastic. These sessions are a great way for everyone to relax, try something new, and spend time together. There’s always plenty of conversation, which makes it all the more special. A big tha

Local community group, Teams and Bensham Community Care is today celebrating after being awarded £20,000 in National Lottery funding to support its work with people aged 65 years and over. The charity, based in Gateshead, will use the money to deliver it’s social groups, hot meals, activities and transport for local older people. Teams and Bensham Community Care has been running since 1990 and it’s small team is supported by six volunteers. It was founded by local people aft

This week, our Men’s Group came together for a special arts and crafts session with a meaningful theme — Remembrance Day. With paint, paper, poppies, and plenty of conversation, the gents worked on a range of creative projects to honour those who served and died in the line of duty. As we approach Remembrance Sunday, we’re proud to share a few photos of the beautiful crafts created by our talented men's group attendees. Our Men’s Groups  offer a welcoming space for older g

Our Lunch Club had an extra special celebration this Halloween. It was also a day to celebrate our friend Maureen's birthday. Maureen generously treated everyone to live entertainment to mark her birthday, turning our Halloween themed lunch gathering into a full-on celebration filled with music, laughter, and dancing. The room was beautifully dressed for the occasion, with Halloween decorations adding plenty of colour. Our lunch club friends and our team really got into the

Twice per week, our men’s group comes together for an afternoon of friendly competition, laughter, and connection after lunch. The games vary (chess, dominoes, draughts, card games, Scrabble, and Connect Four) but the result is always the same. Good company, great conversation, and a sense of community. Playing games like Connect Four and chess helps keep the mind active, supporting memory, focus, and problem-solving skills. Each move encourages strategy, patience, and creati

We had such a fantastic time celebrating Halloween across our lunch clubs this week! The room looked amazing with all the spooky decorations, and everyone got into the spirit of the day. There was plenty of laughter, lots of chatting, and a lovely sense of community all round. Our members enjoyed a delicious hot, two-course meal, various activities and of course, a cuppa and a good catch-up. There were also some brilliant costumes and crafts.  It’s always lovely spend time t

We had a brilliant week celebrating Halloween at our men’s groups! The room looked fantastic with all the spooky decorations, and we had Halloween crafts, great masks and plenty of laughter all round. As always, we enjoyed our delicious two-course meal, plenty of refreshments, and some tasty baked goods to take home at the end of the day. Our wheelchair-accessible minibus makes it easy for everyone to join us, with pick-ups and drop-offs across Teams, Bensham, Lobley Hill, S