Toynbee Hall gets �100,000 grant for older people’s service.

Toynbee Hall has been given a �100,000 grant to help introduce a Wellbeing Service for older people in Tower Hamlets.

Celebrating last week’s Older People’s Week, the City of London’s City Bridge Trust awarded the grant to the famous hall in Whitechapel’s Commercial Street, which work to combat poverty and promote social inclusion.

The money will help fund the appointment of an Older People’s transformation manager to oversee the service and recruit volunteers.

The Wellbeing Service, aimed at improving the overall health and well-being of older people, will include financial health checks, along with a range of well-being and physical activities, discussion groups and personal care. The service will be provided either on site or at people’s homes as appropriate. It is hoped the service will help reach residents not currently using services.

Chairman of the City of London’s City Bridge Trust Committee, Billy Dove, said: “Thankfully, older people are living longer and the Wellbeing Service will help the over-75s enjoy active, independent and healthy lives and crucially have a choice about how they live.”

Toynbee Hall’s chief executive Graham Fisher said: “The funding will be used to develop and improve our range of services for older people combating isolation and improving wellbeing. It will also help us support our users to get more involved in designing and running services themselves.”

Toynbee Hall was established in 1884 as the ‘Universities Settlement in East London’ and has had many famous visitors including Clement Attlee,

who first came to Toynbee as a young man before becoming Prime Minister in 1945.