Scottish charity launches Big Carr Gomm Challenge to stomp out loneliness and isolation

dailyrecord.co.uk:

In a bid to bring people in Scotland together, Carr Gomm has recently launched its Big Carr Gomm Challenge to invite people to join forces and take on a challenge together.This could be anything from running a marathon with a family member, completing a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle with a neighbour or gaming for 24 hours with a friend.

This challenge projects aim to combat isolation and loneliness across Scotland - something which still continues to deeply impact our communities even after the return to normal life, as according to research by the Mental Health Foundation in 2022, 78% of adults in Scotland had reported feeling lonely at some point in the previous year.Launched with the aim to raise £25,000 in celebration of Carr Gomm's 25th anniversary, all donations to the Big Carr Gomm Challenge will go directly towards setting up and running community projects across Scotland, giving people opportunities to meet people, learn something new and feel connected in their community.Whether it’s through learning carpentry at the Men in Sheds project, cooking healthy food at Craigmillar Community Grows, or joining a walking group in Glasgow, Carr Gomm works with communities to fight this loneliness epidemic.

For chief executive Lucy Wren, this fundraiser will help raise awareness of how everyone benefits from these projects: “This is about having a healthy community, that you feel part of.

You never know whether you might want to be at the garden project or need the help of a link worker. It’s our role, as a charity, to fill those gaps in our society and we’re inviting people in to see it and let us tell you about it.”After 25 years of supporting their first person in East Lothian in 1998, Carr Gomm’s 1,200 qualified support