Royal Voluntary Service, Cornhill Centre, Banbury.

31/10/2025

A Very Spooky Friday club

An amazing horror quiz to start the day off. Then live music from the amazing Rob, lunch where we served up delicious Fish and Chips followed by a homemade Banoffee pie for pudding followed by table team games and coffee. Whats more we have three new members joining us soon

20/10/2025

To get ready for Christmas with elderly parents

Start with having an open conversation about their expectations, and focus on comfort, safety, and shared activities that are accessible. This includes adapting holiday preparations like decorating, helping with shopping, and planning activities like watching movies or cooking together to accommodate their abilities and interests. Be patient, flexible, and ready to create a comfortable, safe environment while cherishing the time together.
Plan ahead with your parents

Discuss expectations:
Talk to your parents about what they want for the holidays, where they would prefer to celebrate, and what they are hoping for.

Assess the home:
Ensure their home is safe warm and comfortable, especially if you are celebrating there. This includes checking for accessibility issues like stairs or a lack of a walk-in shower.
Understand that their health or energy levels may change, and be prepared to adjust plans accordingly. Adapt holiday traditions

Decorating:
Involve them in decorating to their ability. This could be as simple as sitting by the tree and reminiscing, or you can help them with tasks like placing ornaments or making a smaller, tabletop decoration.
Shopping and cards: Offer to help with Christmas shopping, either in-person or online. You can also assist with writing and sending cards, which can be difficult for those with vision or hand-steadiness issues, suggests Call-In Homecare.

Cooking:
Cook the Christmas feast together, tailoring the meal to their preferences.
Start a new tradition: Suggest a new, low-key tradition, or revisit old ones to create shared memories.
Share stories and movies: Watch their favourite holiday movies and ask them to share stories about why they love them.

Stay connected:
If they have a friend or neighbour who may be alone, consider inviting them to join the celebration to help prevent loneliness, notes Helping Hands Home Care.

Going out:
Go to see holiday lights or attend a local event like a carol service together, with help for transportation.
Comfort and safety: Consider practical gifts like a heated throw, an electric blanket, a personal alarm system, or motion-activated lights, as recommended by Taking Care Personal Alarms and Alina Homecare.
Helpful gadgets: Other thoughtful ideas include a Wi-Fi digital photo frame, an automatic jar opener, or a single-serve coffee maker, according to Great Senior Living.

10/10/2025

What a day we had today! The club was in full swing, we had may games including some very funny charades with a couple of our lovely volenteers acting out the clues. Then we had pulled pork with rice and our garden picked pears with caramel in a sweet pastry tart and custard. Here’s some great photo’s of our lovely club members

03/10/2025

Slow cooked meats bring so much taste out of the meat and make great casseroles. We had slow cooked lamb today that was loved by everyone. You can’t beat a classic can you! To top it off we had a lovely limoncello sponge pudding. Do you know someone who needs so company? Why don’t you suggest they contact the friday club?

26/09/2025

Here is some help if you are looking after an elderly relative. It’s so important they have good wholesome food at least once a day.
Cooking for one when you're older involves meal planning, batch cooking, and smart grocery shopping to avoid waste and ensure nutrition, while also focusing on simple, nutritious meals that are easy to prepare. Tips include batch cooking and freezing individual portions, utilizing frozen or pre-cut vegetables, making small batches every few days, shopping more frequently for fresh ingredients, and focusing on nutrient-dense, easy-to-digest foods like soft fruits, lean proteins, and whole grains.
Meal Planning & Shopping
Plan your meals: Create a meal plan for a few weeks at a time to reduce food waste and ensure you only buy what you need.
Shop smart: Go to the grocery store more often to purchase smaller quantities of fresh ingredients, or freeze smaller portions of items you bought in bulk.
Utilize frozen and pre-cut ingredients: Buy frozen fruits and vegetables, which last longer and are often pre-cut, to make cooking simpler and reduce waste.
Cooking Techniques & Meal Ideas
Batch cook and freeze: Designate a few days to cook larger batches of healthy entrees and freeze them in individual portions for easy reheating.
Prepare small portions: Make only what you will eat and refrigerate or freeze leftovers promptly.
Focus on soft foods: If chewing is difficult, choose foods like applesauce, mashed bananas, smoothies, and baked pears or peaches, which are easier to digest.
Simple meal ideas:
Breakfast: Porridge with fruit, scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast, or Greek yogurt with honey and granola.
Lunch/Dinner: Lentil soup, chicken or tuna salad on wholegrain bread, baked fish with vegetables, or a stir-fry with tofu.
Soft foods: Smoothies with added protein powder or mashed avocado are excellent options.
Health & Nutrition Considerations
Nutrient-dense foods: Focus on a variety of nutritious foods, including plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein.
Calcium and Vitamin D: Include foods high in calcium to support bone health, such as dairy or fortified plant milks.
Hydration: Drink adequate amounts of water and other fluids to stay hydrated.
Limit processed foods: Opt for low-salt and low-saturated-fat options, and use added sugars in moderation.
Consider delivery services: If cooking becomes too difficult, look into meal delivery services, such as Meals on Wheels.

20/09/2025

RVS has so much to offer that people are just not aware of. This is a fantastic online product that can help people stay well and healthy.

The Virtual Village Hall is a FREE online activity hub and community helping people stay physically and mentally active, connected and having fun.

20/09/2025

There is nothing worse than cooking for one! This is why we make sure at the Cornhill Centre that we cook good wholesome food that our visitor choose and love. We should always try and make sure as we age that we make sure we eat as well as we can.

This is why.

Nutritional meals are essential for the elderly to maintain their physical health, such as strong bones, muscles, and immune systems, and to prevent and manage chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Good nutrition also supports mental well-being and helps with healing from illness and injury. As aging bodies have different and often reduced abilities to absorb nutrients, a nutrient-dense diet of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains is crucial to compensate for these changes and maintain overall health and a good quality of life.

How Nutritional Meals Benefit the Elderly
• Stronger Bones and Muscles:
Proper nutrients help maintain muscle mass and bone density, which is crucial for mobility and preventing falls and fractures.
• Robust Immune System:
A balanced diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, strengthens the immune system, making older adults less susceptible to infections and illnesses.
• Faster Healing and Recovery:
Adequate nutrition helps older adults heal more quickly from injuries and recover better from illnesses.
• Disease Prevention and Management:
Nutrient-rich foods can help control weight and prevent or manage chronic conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
• Improved Mental and Emotional Health:
A good diet not only boosts physical well-being but also contributes to a better mood and overall sense of mental health.
• Healthy Digestive System:
Fiber-rich foods are essential for maintaining a healthy digestive system, helping to prevent issues like constipation.
Changes in Nutritional Needs with Age
• Decreased Appetite and Absorption:
Reduced stomach acid and lower production of digestive enzymes can decrease the body's ability to absorb nutrients, making nutrient-dense foods more important.
• Altered Calorie and Nutrient Needs:
Older adults may require fewer calories but more of certain nutrients, such as protein, to stay healthy.
• Increased Risk of Malnutrition:
Factors like loss of appetite, difficulty chewing or swallowing, and reduced thirst can increase the risk of malnutrition and dehydration.
• Reduced Muscle Mass:
As we age, muscle mass naturally decreases, but adequate protein intake can help to maintain muscle strength and function.

19/09/2025

The Friday Club has been donated a beautiful 10Kg bag of basmati rice. So we just had to make pan fried Chicken in a mushroom sauce with some of this beautiful rice. We had to do a homemade pudding using some of the amazing fruits from our volenteers own trees so we made stewed pears with sultans all it needed was some lovely ice cream to finish it off.

11/09/2025

Just made a goulash soup for the friday club. Beautiful, slow cooked beef, veg and a delicate amount of sweet Hungarian paprika, ready to serve up with lots of freshly baked breads

05/09/2025

Who are the R.V.S? Did you know that they support us at the Cornhill Centre helping the volenteers create programmes, giving support to delivery transport to and from the centre and laying on home cooked lunches.
Their history is so interesting
The Royal Voluntary Service began in 1938 as the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) for Air Raid Precautions to help civilians during wartime. It became Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) in 1966 when Queen Elizabeth II added "Royal" to its title, and eventually became Royal Voluntary Service in 2013. The organization provides practical and social support to older people and supports the NHS, with a volunteer-led network of community and hospital services.

Key historical milestones:
• 1938: Founded as the Women's Voluntary Services for Air Raid Precautions (WVS) to assist with civilian protection during air raids and to evacuate children.
• WWII: The WVS grew into the largest organization in British history, recruiting over a million volunteers to assist in every aspect of wartime life, from providing rest centers and food to collecting salvage.
• Post-War Years: The WVS evolved to address social care needs, pioneering practices that shaped modern social services.
• 1966: Queen Elizabeth II granted the title "Royal" in recognition of the organization's service, and it became the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS).
• 2004: The organization became known simply as WRVS.
• 2013: It became the Royal Voluntary Service, its current name.

Mission and Today's Work:
• Social Care:
Today, the Royal Voluntary Service focuses on helping older people live healthier and happier lives through volunteering.
• NHS Support:
It provides support to the NHS through volunteer-run shops, cafes, and trolley services in hospitals, as well as community-based volunteering.
• Community Impact:
The charity enables people to volunteer to meet pressing needs in their communities and the NHS, continuing its legacy of providing practical help and companionship.

01/09/2025

7 GREAT REASONS TO CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING IN RETIREMENT

While retirement marks the end of one part of your life, it can also be a launch pad for new opportunities. Finishing work can be a challenging new phase, and it regularly ranks highly on the scale of stressful life events, but it can also provide you with the chance to enjoy a new lease of life.
You may enjoy the freedom of not having to work. Or you may also feel lonely, isolated, and quite bored at times. Either way, it can be useful to develop new interests that fill part of your time. One activity you could consider is to start volunteering in retirement. According to volunteer charity Volunteering Matters, more than 10,000 people over the age of 50 volunteer with them across the UK. You have the time, experience, and a wealth of wisdom that could help countless people. As a result, giving your services could be a meaningful and rewarding way for you to spend your time.

1. LEARN A NEW SKILL OR PUT OLD ONES TO USE
Once you’ve retired, you have the luxury to indulge in hobbies you may have never had the opportunity to do. Volunteering could help you try something new and expand your horizons – and you may even discover hidden talents you never knew you had.
Meanwhile, if you have skills from your working life that you enjoyed using, volunteering can provide the ideal opportunity to keep putting them to use. Many organisations could benefit from the wealth of experience that you have.

2. GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS
Once you’ve left the world of work, the regular day-to-day interactions that you used to have with colleagues can be very much missed. Volunteering can help fill that gap and enable you to have that regular social interaction with people.
Whether you’re working with kids, animals, or adults, volunteering provides ample opportunity to connect with others who share similar passions to you.
Research carried out by Volunteer Scotland shows that 21% of people start volunteering to meet friends, and 20% of those who volunteered at least once a month make a new friend.
Volunteering can provide opportunities for you to extend your social contacts in a fun and purposeful way. It strengthens your ties to the community and broadens your support network, too.

3. INCREASES YOUR FEELINGS OF SATISFACTION AND HAPPINESS
Volunteering for a good cause, such as your favourite charity, is a great way of contributing to your local community, and can give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are making a difference. That’s why people who assist those in need and give back to others and their communities tend to be happier.
A study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies and reported by the Washington Post compared people who didn’t volunteer to those who had volunteered in the past year.
The study showed that the volunteers were more satisfied with their lives and rated their overall health better. It also found that people who started to volunteer during the study became happier over time.

4. HELPS YOU TO ADJUST TO RETIREMENT
Often when people retire, they struggle with a sense of purpose and a lack of structure within their lives.
In particular, high-powered, work-oriented individuals who were always on the go with something to do can find it immensely difficult to lose that part of their lives. As a result, they can struggle more than most with the adjustment to being retired.
Volunteering can help to provide that purpose and structure to your day, helping you adjust to the pace of retirement.

5. BUILDS CONFIDENCE
Studies completed by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and reported by Second Wind Movement found that volunteers had strengthened levels of self-esteem and self-confidence.
This is because volunteering allows you to practise and develop new skills, while enabling you to meet regularly with like-minded people. This may build your confidence that might have disappeared if you lost your sense of purpose and belonging after leaving the workplace.

6. CAN IMPROVE YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE
According to the National Institute on Aging (NIH), participating in meaningful activities that keep the mind and body active can lower the risk of health issues such as dementia, and improve the longevity of your life.
Volunteering can help counteract the effects of stress, anger, or anxiety that you may be feeling. This is because the social aspects of helping and working with others can positively influence your psychological wellbeing.
Regular contact with others along with making new friends also enables you to build a support network, which can protect you against depression.
As reported by Help Guide, volunteering with animals has also been shown to improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety.

7. HELPS YOU TO OVERCOME DIFFICULT TIMES SUCH AS BEREAVEMENT
If you have been through a difficult time, such as the end of a relationship or a bereavement for example, you can feel lonelier and more isolated from others once you have retired. Being retired could make dealing with such big life events even more difficult.
Volunteering, meanwhile, can help to take your mind off things and provide the distraction necessary to help you to move on. It can also be a great way to meet other people who may be going through something similar, offering valuable empathy from someone who knows exactly how you feel.

So come and join one of the great teams that spread all across Banbury. We can guarantee you will make such a difference both to you and the people you work with.

29/08/2025

Such a great organisation