Tuesday October 1 is national Older People’s Day, and I would like to say a huge thank you to all the mature people who are making such a huge difference to their communities by volunteering for worthy causes.

I work for a charity called Vitalise, which runs an accessible holiday centre called Vitalise Sandpipers in Southport.

We provide desperately needed respite holidays for disabled people and carers.

We simply couldn’t provide this essential service without the help of our volunteers, many of whom are older people making the most of their retirement.

Their maturity and experience is an incredible asset to the centre.

Our mature volunteers gain a new lease of life by helping others.

Mancunian Alan Pennington, a regular volunteer at Vitalise Sandpipers, said: “When I retired I needed something to do and heard about this place.

"I love it - it doesn’t matter what age or nationality you are, we all get on, it’s fantastic, unbelievable.”

Volunteering for Vitalise is tremendous fun and a fantastic opportunity for you to put your skills and experience to good use and make new friends from all over the world.

We welcome volunteers from age 16 upwards and there is no upper age limit.

As long as you are reasonably fit and active, your enthusiasm and warmth is all you need to have a memorable week.

I would like to invite people of all ages from the region to spend a week of their time - or just the odd day - helping our guests have a much-needed break.

We are open all year round, but we especially need people to come and help during autumn and winter.

For more information or an informal chat, call me on 01704 538 388 or visit www.vitalise.org.uk It’s never too late to make a difference!

Chris Ashcroft Vitalise Sandpipers www.vitalise.org.uk