TWO SIBLINGS have been tackling social isolation among older residents in North Yorkshire by spending their summer helping with everything from washing windows to helping fix computer problems.

For the past few weeks, Alexander Davison, 15, and sister Amelia Davison, 9, have taken on their own voluntary work in the Masham and Bedale area in a bid to improve life for older people in the community.

Their work included washing cars and windows for people, distributing free range eggs from the smallholding at Mowbray Special School in Bedale and even helping residents with computer technology problems, which resulted with some people being connected with relatives in Australia.

Other activities they undertook over summer included making afternoon tea for people who have been bereaved or who have recently returned home for hospital, serving lunch to people at the Wednesday Welcome Group in Masham, which helps combat loneliness and isolation.

They also worked with British Red Cross volunteers on the Masham Community Connect Service taking homemade cakes and flowers to isolated residents.

In addition to working with older members of the community, the two have taken on some conservation work, volunteering at The Foxglove Covert nature reserve in Catterick Garrison and building nesting boxes for birds which they will be presenting to Mowbray School in Bedale for its forest school activities.

To tie all the voluntary activities together, the two siblings have now organised a gardening event.

It will take place at Mowbray School on October 1, which is International Older People’s Day and World Habitat Day, which promotes the United Nation's mandate to promote sustainable development that ensures adequate shelter for all.

In a statement, they said: “We are aware of a campaign by The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy called “Love Activity, Hate Exercise.

“The aim is to encourage people who are inactive to use activity rather than exercise to get fitter. The gardening even brings children with special needs together with older isolated people being supported by British Red Cross.

“In doing so we bring young and older generation together to do an activity that can be done by all levels of ability and encourages meaningful activity too.”

They have entered their project into North Yorkshire Police’s Lifestyle Challenge, which encourages ten to 17-year-olds in the county to come up with ways of improving the quality of life in their community and then carrying out the work over the summer break.

  • Young people entering the contest have until the end of September to work on their project and record everything they do in a log book provided by police.
  • The log books have to be submitted to North Yorkshire Police by September 22 and judging begins in October.
  • The winners will then be invited to an awards ceremony in November.