A SOCIAL club for the elderly has been saved thanks to Dorset Echo readers.

The Saturday Club, which is held at the Acorns Day Centre in Weymouth, has been saved from closure following a plea for new members.

The group is for people aged over 60 and is run by four volunteers every Saturday at the day centre in Grosvenor Road.

The Dorset, Devon and Cornwall Community Rehabili-tation Company (DDCCRC), which funds the kitchen at the club, told the volunteers that they had to find at least 10 more members by the end of October if they were to continue funding it.

However, thanks to an appeal in the Dorset Echo, 14 more members have signed up, taking the total number up to 36, and the club has now been told it will remain open.

Volunteer Melanie McWatters said: “We would like to say thank you to the Echo and to the new members who have joined.

“It’s excellent news and it’s brilliant to see the room full on a Saturday and to see a buzz here again.”

Although the club is no longer facing the prospect of shutting its doors at the end of the month, the DDCCRC has said it will be reviewing the club at the end of the year.

Mrs McWatters said: “They are going to keep it open and it won’t be closing at the end of October as they had suggested but they will be reviewing it at Christmas, so we need to keep our numbers up!

“Quite few of our members have been coming for years, it’s really important to them and it’s really important we can keep it going.

“For elderly people who might not go out during the week or weekend, it’s great for them.”

The social club runs from 10.30am – 3.30pm every Saturday and provides members with an array of entertainment and the chance to enjoy a freshly-cooked two-course lunch while socialising with others.

The group costs £8 a week per person and there is an additional £5 cost if transport is required.

For more information about the club, call Melanie McWatters on 01305 767243.